The Torment
by Larania Drake
Summary: Piccolo is turned into a woman. Gohan finds love.
1. Default Chapter Title

The Torment

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z and Ranma ½ do not belong to me. I am not making any money from this. I do not know how to spell the names of the actual owners, but they own them. Not me.

(A/N: Anyone who starts shouting 'yaoi' to this, I have a good argument against it. Piccolo is asexual. Actually, the better term would be hermaphrodite. He, for ease of reference, can perform the same biological acts as a female. He can birth young if he chose. His species is neither male nor female, but have to, to some extent, exchange DNA. They aren't identical. So, thus, they have to be hermaphrodites.)

Dende was confused. He had been watching a particularly strange part of the world that he protected, and wondered if he would ever figure it out from where it was.

Unfortunately, he couldn't go anywhere himself, but he knew someone who could.

:Piccolo?: he called out mentally.

There was no answer.

:Piccolo?:

It took Dende a moment to realize that he was being ignored, after almost panicking.

:Piccolo, I know that you might be busy, but this is important.:

He got the impression of severe grumbling from the elder Namekian's mind. Finally, with a sigh, he turned his attention to him.

:What is it, brat?:

Dende ignored the insult.

:There is some kind of strange magical site in Chiukoku,: he told him. (That is what China is called in Japanese. Although I may not have spelled it right.) :I have not heard of it, and since I can't leave the Lookout…:

He heard a huge sigh from the elder's mind. 

:You want me to investigate, right?:

:Ahh-:

:Just spit it out, kid.:

:Alright, if you aren't too busy…:

Piccolo almost refused right there, because of the stupid way Dende had asked. Then he stopped. Life had been rather boring for him lately, and all he had to do was meditate and train. Now that Gohan was in high school, he didn't come around as much. Much as he hated to admit it, he was getting restless, especially with no Goku to compare himself to. 

It would be stupid to try and spare with Vegeta. He would have to put up with the man's solar system sized ego, and it would get one or both of them killed.

:Fine.:

Dende blinked. That had been way too easy.

:Okay, this is where it is.:

He gave Piccolo directions, and when he had left the mountains he had been in, Dende thought of something.

"Maybe I should have asked Mr. Popo if he had known anything about it."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Piccolo was gliding in over the area that had been pointed out to him by Dende. There was nothing really strange about it, he thought. It looked like any other area that he had flown over at some time or another.

It looked like several dozen tiny ponds with bamboo poles stuck into them. It was a type of Shaolin training method, but they usually used sharpened stakes for a person to fall on, not water. In fact, he couldn't see what would make a person worry about falling at all. No one feared water. Least of all, him.

Taking another look around, he spotted village. No danger there.

"Well, this was lovely waste of time," he muttered, among other various swear words.

He could, as a consequence of his once being a part of Kami, and having then remerged with him, sense magic, and this place did reek of it. That was the only part that confused him. The place was so damned innocuous. What could be giving Dende fits?

No Kami had ever heard about the Training Ground of Accursed Springs. Thus, they didn't know that the Spring almost seemed to have a mind of its own, and that it loved having new victims.

Poor Piccolo.

Out of nowhere, an asteroid that should have burned up in orbit hit the unsuspecting Namek, and he fell, right into the Springs.

Into the Spring of Drowned Girl, to be precise.

"AHHHH!"

The impact was bruising, but not shattering, as it would have been to anyone else. Still, the shock of the hit, and being dashed into the water was fierce, and he lost consciousness for a few seconds. 

Then, when he woke up, he was a she.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*

"Where the hell am I?" Piccolo-chan asked, thinking she had never felt so banged up. She had been shot with lasers, energy blasts of all kinds, but he didn't think he had ever been quite so disoriented. Up until then, his eyes had been closed, and she could feel the lapping of water around her feet. Everything spun.

Raising her head, she tried to look around. Amazingly, her turban was still on her head, which promptly fell into her eyes.

Cursing, she flung it off her head, struggling against her suddenly awkward cape and shoulder pads. Her clothes sagged, dragging dirt along with her. Spitting and yowling, she stood, and saw her hands.

Elegant and fine-boned, they were also powerful with muscle, calloused, but far smaller than they had been. They were also a soft tan.

"_Kuso!_" she shrieked, realizing that her voice was no longer a menacing rumble, but a rich alto.

Her hands flew to her face, feeling the smooth _human_ skin, no antennae, and tangled in the mass of pine green hair tumbling from her head.

**_"What the hell just happened??"_**

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dende had been feeling like something bad had happened all day. As if to punctuate his feelings, a small, fine boned girl suddenly landed on his lookout.

"**_Dende, what in the name of Enma-sama have you done to me???"_**

**__**It took the severely confused god a few minutes to figure out who this person was.

"Can I help you, miss?"

"DAMN YOU BRAT, DON'T YOU REALIZE WHO I AM?"

Dende shook his head in confusion.

He didn't have time to react as the enraged Piccolo-chan grabbed him by the collar of his robe.

Dende was able to guess, then, who it was, but couldn't tell him because he was choking, and his face was turning a lovely shade of purple.

Realizing this, Piccolo-chan put him down, but the poor god took a few minutes to recover.

"(pant) Piccolo-san? What (gasp, wheeze) happened to _you?_"

"I don't know! But I do know that I want you to find a way for me to change back, _RIGHT NOW!_" As Piccolo-chan had said each word, she had taken a step closer, hands raised and clenched into fists. What she didn't realize was that she looked so cute it was hard to believe that she could ever be threatening.

Of course, he lost that assumption when she started to power up. 

"Is something wrong, Dende?" asked the usually good-natured voice of Mr. Popo.

He then noticed what was going, and promptly ran over to protect his flowers.

"What is going on? Mr. Popo no like it when someone try to hurt his flowers!"

Both Namek and former-Namek jumped apart from each other, knowing how he would get.

Mr. Popo took a moment to look at the very fit, pretty girl that had somehow gotten to the Lookout.

"Excuse me, Miss, but do you know that you are attacking the Kami of this planet?"

"_OF COURSE I KNOW THAT! I'M PICCOLO, YOU DJINN FREAK!"_

"Piccolo? Oh, you must have gone to the Training Ground!"

This statement again stopped the two cold, and they glared, one in confusion, the other in rage.

"What are you talking about? It kinda looked like a training ground, yeah, but- WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IT? AND WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL DENDE???"

The pretty girl that was somehow Piccolo, his former Kami, disturbed Mr. Popo. He was also very worried that his head wasn't going to be attached to his shoulders all that much longer. 

Then Piccolo-chan stopped. Taking a deep breath, she asked in a tight, growling voice," Is there anyway that the spell can be taken off?"

"Uh, no."

"_WHAT?"_

Dende then had to restrain Piccolo-chan.

Popo had backed up until he was almost falling off the Lookout. "I meant that it couldn't be removed, but part of the curse is that it can be temporarily reversed, with hot water!"

Scowling, the girl turned heel and ran into the Palace, and went looking for a water tap.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Piccolo-chan stopped dead, when she came across a large mirror in the maze of corridors in the belly of God's Palace. Looking at herself, she wondered what twisted demon had seen fit to do this to her. Touching her face curiously, she noticed that she kept some of her old features; her scowling mouth had the same lips, only they looked out of place on a girls face. Prominent cheekbones, eyes like ebony, and a delicate nose were under the human pale skin. Piccolo-chan then noticed her hair- she had balled it up under her turban for the flight back. Removing her turban now, the twisted strands fell nearly to her knees. 

"Great," she mumbled aloud. "I go from being bald to having more hair than I know what to do with. Maybe I could ask Krillin what he does with his…? NO, I am not telling anyone about this!" 

She took a fist full of the nearly black green hair and shoved it back under her turban, and broke the mirror.

With that, she stalked to the bathroom.

To be continued….


	2. Someone Found Out!

**The Torment 2: Someone Found Out!**

** **

** **

Disclaimer: DBZ and Ranma ½ do not belong to me, and I make no money off this bit of my diseased imagination. Please, don't sue me.

Piccolo was having trouble adjusting to his new situation. If you could call suddenly turning into a human female whenever you were doused with cold water a 'situation'. He would have preferred to call it a catastrophe. 

It was early the next day, after Piccolo's rather abrupt transformation. He was carefully drinking some water that he had heated with his ki so he could drink it without transforming. He grimaced at the taste.

Piccolo stood up from his usual mediating pose, and started his stretches for the day. He slid easily from the splits, to standing to kicks and swinging his arms, getting his muscles warm for the day.He was about to start his push-ups when the familiar voice of his student and friend, Gohan interrupted him.

"Ohayoo Piccolo-san! How are you doing?"

Standing, the green giant looked at him, his face expressionless, but he was thinking- _Oh, hell, if he finds out-_

He gave Gohan the silent treatment, the way he usually did. This didn't deter the young half-breed; he chattered along, and all Piccolo had to do was occasionally nod his head.

"I met this really nice girl at school, Piccolo-san, and she is absolutely amazing. She's pretty, she can fight, and-"

Piccolo wondered why Gohan was telling him this. Then again, considering that he had no real father to go to, which might be why-

"And I was telling her about my training, and she said she wanted to meet you. Is that okay?"

Piccolo was so busy nodding his head that he hadn't realized that he had been asked a question, and just kept on nodding. He did notice when a bright grin lit up Gohan's face, and the shout of thanks as he took off to school.

Then Piccolo remembered what Gohan had said. Groaning, he put his head in his hands. Could things get any worse?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Why are you so worried about my meeting your sensei, Gohan?" Videl asked, looking at her friend, whom she was starting to think of in other terms, as they flew on the Flying Nimbus. 

"He tends to be rude, kinda, around people he hasn't met yet," he told her lamely, hoping to give as good an impression as he could.

"Honto? I always knew that martial arts masters could be a little conceited, but a lot of the ones that I have met were pretty polite."

Gohan winced.

"By the way, what is his name, anyway?"

This was the part that he had been dreading. Most people were still afraid of Piccolo, even though there was no real reason.

"His name is Daimou Piccolo."

Videl was suddenly falling off the Flying Nimbus. 

"_Videl!_"

Clouds enveloped her, and Gohan tried to locate her ki. 

She was gone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As the day had progressed, Piccolo had noticed several clouds starting to move in, but in the heat of training with himself, he had forgotten what it could mean. 

He had been about to hit himself with a special beam cannon when he heard the shout.

He had been unconsciously noticing the approach of Gohan's ki, but he hadn't noticed the other person's, and when the scream happened, he had turned to investigate.

By then the clouds had gotten so thick they had covered the afternoon sky in hazy gloom, turning it a charcoal gray. The scream, a masculine one, then one that was feminine, had shattered the quiet. Looking up, Piccolo had seen a form falling, and he had reacted by flying to catch the falling person. 

He had reacted instinctively, without thought, and only wondered later why he had done it. 

Piccolo's arms closed around the form of a young woman as she emerged from the thick leaden clouds.She was still quite conscious, and yelling all the louder for it. 

"Will you shut the hell up brat??" asked the Namek, his ears ringing as the low powered girl pummeled at his head. "I saved your worthless-"

Whatever else the disgruntled Piccolo would have said was lost in the roar of sudden thunder, and the clouds broke, drenching him and the young girl, Piccolo assumed she was Videl, with ice-cold rain.

Videl screamed again, this time because the arms holding her shrunk to the point that their grip loosened. It was then that she remembered that she could fly as well, and was able to shake herself loose.

Floating in front of her was a lovely girl about her age, where had once floated the boogey man of her youth. With a yip, that girl flew away as fast as possible, leaving behind a very, very confused Videl.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Videl!" shrieked a voice in her ear, but Videl didn't hear it.

Her mind was still confused with what she saw. The huge, green demon that she had been taught to fear not only was her boyfriend's (well, almost boyfriend) sensei, had saved her life, then turned into a girl. 

_Why do these things always happen to me?_ She thought.

"Videl! Are you all right? Answer me!" 

There was a sudden burst of flame and Gohan had become SSJ. Videl did notice that.

"What? Gohan, is something wrong? Why did you do that?"

Clutching her arms, then pulling her to his chest, Gohan answered, "Don't ever scare me like that again!"

Then both Gohan and Videl noticed how close they were. Both blushed, and jumped away.

Unbeknownst to either of them, Piccolo-chan was watching, and rolled her eyes.

"Kids," she sighed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They got back on the Flying Nimbus, and went still looking for Piccolo-san. Gohan was baffled as to why he couldn't sense his teacher's ki. It had never happened before. But, as he explained to Videl, Piccolo was a private person.

Thinking about what she had seen, Videl agreed.

To be continued….


	3. It Gets Worse!

The Torment 3: It gets worse

Disclaimer: DBZ does not belong to me, neither does Ranma ½. They are only the victims of my obsession with Piccolo-sama, and will not get paid, since I am not.

Piccolo-chan swore loudly, now that Gohan was out of hearing distance. Although, she realized he wouldn't have been able to recognize her voice. 

What now? She wondered, I can't kill that girl, Gohan would notice. Besides, a voice in her head whispered, you really don't want to. Shut up, she told the voice, I can still kill, even if I do look like a girl.

Muttering evil implications to herself about what she still could do to people, (yes! Really!) She went to find the bucket Dende had given her the day before to heat water in. 

Heating it, then dumping it over her head, she noticed a faint ki to her side-

"Oh, Kami-sama, you _are_ Daimou Piccolo-san, aren't you?" 

Piccolo gave her his patented glare, which Vegeta tried to copy but could never get royalties on, because it was his glare first, and the girl quailed, but rallied. 

"What happened to you?" she asked, not realizing that Piccolo was wondering what she would taste liked cooked or raw. It didn't matter at the moment that he didn't eat, all that mattered was the various ways he could kill her, to get his mind off of his humiliation. Instead of answering her, Piccolo kept on glaring.

They locked into a staring match; the spunky human verses the huge, green, extremely powerful Namek. In a matter of wills, though, it didn't matter who was stronger physically.

Piccolo was in a quandary. If he killed her, he knew that Gohan would be crushed, and as embarrassed as he was, there was no way he could make Gohan that mad at him. _Kuso._

Videl got bored, and decided to force the issue.

"If you don't tell me, I will tell Gohan that I saw you turn into a girl, and then change back."

The implication was that Gohan didn't know that already, although she thought he would have mentioned already if he did. He talked about his mentor constantly.

She heard his soft growl. 

"Fine. I went to do Dende a favor, and ended up getting cursed to turn into a girl whenever I get wet with cold water. Hot water changes me back. Happy now?"

Videl blinked. "Yes, thank you." It took a few moments for the words to sink in. She couldn't help but chuckle.

"Fine, I try to help someone, then not kill the friend of my best friend, and this is what I get. Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now."

"Because you're a big softy who likes teddy bears?" she asked him, then but her hands up in surrender when he powered up.

"WHOA, WHOA! I was just teasing!"

"You think this is funny?" he shouted, baring his fangs.

Honesty compelled her to answer," Well, yes, but I'm not laughing at you! If you can't see the humor in the situation, I don't see what Gohan sees in you."

That stung. 

__"Do you have any idea what it is like to be turned into a human? Its such a, such an indignity! "

"What's wrong with being human?"

"Because I'm not!"

Videl looked at Piccolo strangely for a moment when what he said hit her.

"You don't mind being a girl, you mind being human?"

Piccolo glanced down at her; the demon king's face a study in confusion.

"They're the same thing, aren't they?"

At this, Videl looked at him like he'd lost his mind.

"What do you mean, you're a 'he' aren't you?"

"No, Namek-jin are asexual. We are not split into two genders the way that humans are."

Videl was a little grossed out by that. "You mean you have both sets?"

"'Sets'?"

"Don't make me have to explain it!"

:sweatdrop:

"I'm afraid that I don't understand," answered Piccolo, honestly confused.

"Girls have one set of genitals, guys have another."

Piccolo looked even more baffled by what she was talking about.

"Genitals?"

Videl's face was very red with embarrassment, but she also wondered at his naiveté. How could the horrible and terrible Demon King not know about- Of course, that could explain itself. You don't go explaining human anatomy to big green aliens that resemble demons. Most people would just assume he already knew. Oh, dear.

"Well, girls have, could you change back so I could tell you?"

Somehow, much to Videl's amusement and Piccolo's dismay, a discussion on comparative biology sprang up. 

"Aren't you male?" she asked him.

"No, I don't have any of what you described as 'male parts'" he told her dryly. Videl blinked. Was Piccolo getting a sense of humor?

They had been first discussing what made someone 'male'. To Videl's surprise, Piccolo had picked up some of the slang terms, but very little real knowledge. Most of Videl's answers came from her 'talk' with her parents when she had her first period, and from that class in biology that every youngster fears. However, it was more than what Piccolo knew.

"Okay, turn girl now, and we can have something to look at when we are talking. Actually, you go behind the tree and look, I'll stand here."

"Oh, human modesty. I never understood that," Piccolo said under his breath, and went over to the nearby spring. Putting his hand in the water, she suddenly had to deal with her oversized turban again.

"Shimatta," she spat loudly.

"If your going to be a girl, you might as well learn what its like to be one," shouted Videl. "Curse less!"

This was answered by several more curses, and the loud thump of Piccolo's heavy training clothes hitting the forest floor. 

"Now what?"

"Okay," Videl shouted back, "see those lumpy things on your chest, those are breasts. Be careful when you fight, they can be tender. The nice thing about being female is that a pot shot won't work as easily. See the area between you legs?"

There was a muffled affirmative.

"There is a slit, and two holes. I don't think you want to know what they do. There is another hole in the back. You don't want to know what that one will do, either. Okay, since you hopefully won't be spending much time as a human, you won't need to. There will be a pop quiz at the end of the class."

There was a strange silence for a few moments, and Videl started to wonder how long she had to live. She winced when she heard the sound of cloth against skin, and Piccolo-chan walked back out, and smirked.

"Sorry, I didn't study. Can I make it up later?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Videl was watched in fascination as Piccolo-chan heated some water to become Piccolo again. The change was just weird to look at; although it happened so fast all she saw was a blur. 

"What are you planning on doing about your curse?" she asked, curious.

"Look for a cure, what else?"

Piccolo turned away, and an evil idea crossed her mind.

"There's an all girl tournament in Satan City this weekend," Videl said off handedly.

Piccolo ignored her, and got into his normal mediation pose. 

"My partner dropped out at the last minute. Would you be interested?"

The giant Namek whirled around, and started to power up. "What are you doing?" he screamed, his face turning purple.

"Come on, you won't find a cure for yourself tomorrow, you know that, and you need to learn about being a girl. It won't hurt you," she said slyly. 

Piccolo was opening his mouth to say something when Videl added," I guess, if you don't want to, I could ask Gohan. He might even willing find that spring-"

"OKAY! I'll do it," Piccolo mumbled, looking at the ground. 

Videl was smiling hugely. "Fine! I'll come by tomorrow and we can train. I'll see you then!"

Piccolo groaned, and Videl laughed as she flew away. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Piccolo-chan waited anxiously for her new 'student' to arrive. She decided that if she was going to be fighting in this form, she might as well train in it.

Doing warm ups, she noticed some immediate differences. For one, the body she was in was physically as strong as her old one, (which was very unusual for a human body) but her sense of balance was a great deal finer. Only her hearing wasn't as great-

"Hey, Piccolo!"

Piccolo-chan jumped about three feet in the air. Compared to what she could have jumped, she had barely flinched, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that she hadn't heard Videl walk up.

Her eyes went wide as plates as the implications set in.

"Whistle."

Videl looked really confused. 

"What are you talking about-"

"I said, whistle!" Piccolo-chan shouted, and Videl stuck two fingers in her mouth. She let out an ear splitting noise.

Piccolo-chan winced, but her eyes opened in surprise.

"That didn't hurt…"

"Nani?" Videl asked, in surprise.

"My hearing has lessened. I can't hear in my usual range. That whistle should have had me screaming in pain."

"Oh," Videl said, filing that bit of information away.

It was then that Piccolo-chan decided to attack.

"YAAHHH!" shrieked Videl, as she blocked frantically. 

"Never let your guard down like that," said the other girl, and Videl swallowed nervously. Maybe she had made a mistake…

Grinning fiercely at the challenge, Videl threw herself into the spar.

This would be fun!


	4. Womanhood

The Torment 4: womanhood

Disclaimer: DBZ and Ranma ½ belong to people other than me. This is the fourth chapter in what promises to be a very strange story, but love will conquer all! On behalf of the moon, for love and justice, I will finish this darn fic, and someday, be sane again! Thus, I swear!

The training that Piccolo put Videl through was rough, even if it did last only a few days. They also had some arguments.

"I'm sorry Piccolo, its regulation for the tournament. You're going to have to wear it," Videl explained patiently, holding the offending object out in front of her.

"But why do _I_ have to wear it?" asked Piccolo-chan. They were in the girls' changing rooms before the tournament, and Videl was holding out a breast protector.

"I said they were regulation. I gotta wear one too, y'know. And no ki blasts. You have to use only your fists and feet for this one."

Piccolo-chan looked very ticked off at that, but didn't reply. Instead, she heaved a put-upon sigh, and started to put the BP on, when Videl said, "NOT like that!"

Piccolo-chan stopped short, confused. Videl opened up Piccolo-chan's gi top.She gagged a little when she saw that she wasn't wearing a bra.

"Piccolo, you- you aren't wearing-" sputtering, she dashed over to her locker, and pulled out one of her sport's bras. She then noticed her partner's smell.

"I don't think that is a new weapon you have come up with," she grimaced. "But it is offensive enough." Piccolo-chan didn't have time to protest as she was rushed to one of the showers. 

Videl had her stripped in minutes, and started scrubbing hard. It was hard for her not to stare. Piccolo-chan was as well muscled female as male, but not in an ugly way. It made her look like a nice statue. 

_She's prettier than me,_ Videl thought in amazement. This started another wicked idea…

Washing her hair, and drying her off quickly, she plaited the extremely long mass up, and then coiled it around her head. Pinning it, she pulled the bemused Piccolo before a mirror, and started to put make-up on her. 

As she applied the barest touches of lip gloss and eye makeup, Piccolo-chan muttered, "Is this regulation, too?"

"Uh-huh," she lied cheerfully, and dragged Piccolo-chan out to the ring.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There were several catcalls and whistles that accompanied the duo into the ring. Piccolo-chan looked around, grateful that the whistles couldn't hurt her anymore, but that didn't mean she liked it any better. She remembered how Master Roshi would act around females, and considering their reaction; it was not a way that they liked to be treated. And the shouts coming from the crowds did not make her happy in the least.

"Why are they acting like that?" she hissed at Videl, who also looked disgusted.

"Oh, _them_," she snarled, looking at the leering and jeering males. "They can't stand the fact that a lot of the girls competing today are better than they are. They also like to see girls fighting. For some reason they find it to be a turn on. I've competed, and beaten, most of those over there." She jerked her thumb over at a particularly loud group that was booing along with the catcalls. There were also signs saying that for a good time, call Videl, and other things.

"I got the impression from Gohan that you are fairly respected," Piccolo-chan answered quietly. 

"Oh, I am, by most, in fact. But there are a group of men like those boys that think a girl should never fight. If she does, something is wrong with her," she added, then looked away, and cracked her knuckles. "I told them to stay away from this fight."

Piccolo-chan was confused for a moment, when she and Videl waited their turn.

Confusion about girls was something she found a lot recently. She had assumed that girls either had not liked fighting, or that they had been too weak. 

If they weren't, why had she heard so much that denounced them?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

All the fighters were low level, that much she was certain of, but it surprised her how much technique went into the girls' fighting. She noticed other things that surprised her. There was the lack of aggressiveness, or rather cockiness, which she had always noticed when males fought. These women were not weak, but it was more sport, a friendly thing, than what she was used to.

Not that there wasn't competition, or anger. There were as many injuries as at the World Martial Arts tournament, but there was an apology that came readily. It was strange.

Then it was Videl's turn, and Piccolo-chan had to admire her form. For a human, she was excellent. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hey, Videl," said a familiar voice behind Piccolo-chan when their final match was over. It was a given that they would win, and amid the tears of the losers, there was also actual congratulations from them. Strange.

Turning, she saw Gohan there. Piccolo-chan froze.

Videl grinned hugely at the black haired cutie. She jumped into his arms, and he gave her an awkward hug. 

The startled look on Gohan's face was priceless when Videl pulled away.

Clearing his throat, Gohan's eyes searched for something to latch onto, and found Piccolo-chan.

Their eyes met, and locked for a moment.

Gohan choked suddenly, and Videl ended up clapping him hard on the back.

"Are you okay?" she asked, worried.

Nodding, he straightened up, and looked again at Piccolo-chan. 

"I didn't catch your name, miss," Gohan said politely and bowed.

Piccolo-chan froze briefly, then answered," Hajimemashite. Ah-"

"This is Clarinet," said Videl quickly, and Piccolo-chan felt oddly grateful.

"Hai, hai, my name is Clarinet."

"Well, I have some friends who are planning a victory dinner for me," Videl said slyly, looking at the awkward situation. "I had better be going!" Videl disappeared so fast that you might have thought she teleported.

The two stared at each other, then at Videl's retreating back. When the moment couldn't get any more stiffer, Gohan's stomach roared.

It was time for the famous Son smile, and embarrassed laugh.

"I think I'm a little hungry," Gohan admitted. "Uh, you want to come and get some food?"

Piccolo-chan grimaced, knowing how much he tended to eat, but fortunately, he did it with a bit more grace than most.

"Okay."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There was a certain fascination that came with watching someone eat. Piccolo-chan had to admit that to herself as she saw Gohan seem to inhale plate after plate of food.

"Aren't you going to eat something?" asked Gohan after his eighth helping of burgers and fries.

They had gone to a nearby burger place. It was a nice little diner, where they were sitting in one of the few booths, while all the other patrons sat on stools at the bar. 

Food? She thought, but the smells coming from his plate did seen very attractive for some reason… 

_I don't eat,_ she argued to herself. _Just ask for some water._

__"I don't think so, could I have something to drink?" she tried to ask politely. Mouth stuffed, in a way that seemed cute all of a sudden, Gohan said," Ms.?" He gestured over to a waitress. "Could I have a chocolate shake?"

"Ah, I was just going to get some water- you didn't have to get me anything else-"

"Oh, its okay," he told her, thinking that she was being shy. "You just won the tournament. My treat."

A helpless look crossed Piccolo-chan's face as she eyed the chocolate mild shake with suspicion. It had been placed in front of her, in its innocuous waxed cup, and she carefully picked up the straw. She had seen what Gohan had done with it earlier. Took off the paper, and stuck it in the lid…

_Okay, that's done, now what?_

Gohan had put the straw in his mouth, and his cheeks looked like he was sucking, so-

Piccolo-chan let out a sigh. It was a liquid, she could give it a try…

The coldness hitting her mouth was a shock; it was followed by a feeling of creaminess and smoothness, and a pleasant sensation coming from her tongue. Sniffing, she noticed that the smell was sweet. Sweet. That was what the taste was… and something indescribable along with it.

Her stomach rumbled, doing a passable imitation of Goku's. "Here," mumbled Gohan, handing her his plate. It had half of his hamburger, which had been cut in two, and several fries left. Emboldened by the shake, Piccolo-chan decided to try this too.

She picked up a fry, and took a bite. Good.

Piccolo-chan blinked. The fries were gone.

So was the hamburger, and she was licking her fingers.

"That was good," she mumbled, her mouth still full. Swallowing, she added," Arigatoo gozaimasu."

"Your welcome," Gohan said, beaming, his face split into a smile. Hesitantly, she smiled back. For some reason the smile felt so much easier than she thought it would have been. 

"Your fighting style looked a lot alike someone else's I know," Gohan then said, making conversation. This started a pleasant discussion on style and technique, one that was far nicer than the ones that they had had earlier, when all Piccolo would do was order and Gohan would obey. 

Gohan then started asking questions about her past, and Piccolo-chan had to think quickly. What would she tell him?

"I need to go," she said, and started for the door.

"How are you getting home?" asked Gohan trailing her.

"I'm walking."

"Do you want company?"

"No," she said bluntly, turning to face him. She had stopped so suddenly that he collided with her.

This turned interesting, because he had had his hands out, and they hit her chest.

"What?" said Piccolo-chan when she noticed that her chest was so tender.

Gohan realized what he had done, and nearly ran off. 

Piccolo-chan just stood there, arms at her side, confused.

"What just happened?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gohan had never been so embarrassed in his life. He had felt sorry for Clarinet when she had been so abruptly abandoned by Videl, and had enjoyed her company. 

What the hell had happened? He had-

His face flamed, and he flew home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dende was reading through several of the scrolls that Mr. Popo had brought him. Many were so old that the writing wasn't legible. Others had huge pieces missing. He was trying his best to find out the origin of the Springs, and find out who had created them, etc, etc. So far, he was out of luck.

Dende had been at this for about a month now, and he winced at the thought. Piccolo was helping, but there wasn't much he could do. Although, Dende thought wryly, _Clarinet_ had been having a much easier time. As a girl, she had been able to get into different libraries and see if there was anything of use in them. 

It had given her a strange chance, as well. She was getting to know Gohan in a way that she hadn't before, as a friend and equal. He had been over to Videl's to visit, and Videl had blackmailed Piccolo-chan into something else. More training. 

Dende smiled to himself. _I wonder what will happen next?_

__He should have learned never to think that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I FOUND IT!" shouted a voice. 

Piccolo looked up from the ancient, moldy tome he had been reading to look over at Videl. She was pumping her fist in the air like she had won something grand, and started to do a little victory dance.

Not being completely heartless, she had started helping Piccolo look for a cure that could be used earlier than the dragon balls, which had been used in the beginning of the year. They had been used to reverse the effects of young Goten's temper one afternoon, wiping out a huge expanse of a mountain range.

Now, they had to wait another ten months, and Piccolo didn't think he might last that long without someone finding out. Videl seemed to delight in finding ways to embarrass him, although she had proven helpful at times. It was just plain confusing. Again.

"Here it is, a ladle that can lock a person in the shape they are in permanently!"

"So, how does that help the situation?" Piccolo asked suspiciously. 

"Duh, Piccolo," she said, rolling her eyes. Piccolo sighed in exasperation. 

"It means that if you are a Namek at the time, you'll stay that way. I think this thing tells how to find it, and we can go get it."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dende was looking through his scrying pool to find the ladle. Not a problem, he thought to himself when he found it right away.

It was in a local museum. It was in a showcase that they would be holding on ancient artifacts. They would be describing and using various objects… It would be easy for two girls to sneak in.

"Why am I having to wear this again?" asked Piccolo-chan, coming out from one of the many rooms in the Lookout. She was wearing a really cute miniskirt; a light top with a plunging neckline that would have given the rest of the Z senshi nosebleeds and Master Roshi would have had an aneurysm. Her hair was done up in a simple clip, half up, half down, and curled loosely. The makeup on her face was done well enough that unless you knew what to look for, it was invisible. 

"You're prettier than me, and you need to make some kind of distraction while I steal the ladle. I checked the program, and it said that the person in charge a man. You flirt, I'll snatch, you go back to being your handsome self all the time, end of story."

"Flirt?"

Videl looked at the confused girl, and sighed. "Oh, dear."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"And this particular piece came from the late era…," droned the annoying man at the podium. Piccolo-chan wondered if she was going to loose her mind, or fall asleep, or both. This pompous kisama didn't have freaking _idea_ of what he was talking about- The memories that Piccolo-chan had from being Kami told her enough about that.

She shuddered at the thought. She had enough identity problems without thinking about that. 

There, she saw Videl behind the curtain, hovering above the stage.

That was her cue.

"Sir?" she asked, trying to sound innocent and curious, and stood, raising her hand. 

The stuffy professor looked up, and saw a very pretty girl standing there, hand in the air, short skirt, tight top, and got a nose bleed.

_Kuso,_ Piccolo-chan thought in amazement. _It actually works…_

"Oops!" she squealed, faked a fall, and to her amazement just about every male leapt out of his seat to help her.

"Are you all right?" cried several voices, among various sounds of protest from the females, as many men rushed to help her up. 

Only one didn't immediately. 

He was going to help Clarinet when he noticed someone at the exhibit. 

"Hey, stop!" he yelled, as that person grabbed a certain ladle and made a run for it. She was wearing a black hood and clothing, and was running with more speed than human speed.

_Her ki is so familiar,_ Son Gohan thought, taking off after the hooded thief. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_NO!_ Piccolo-chan yelled mentally as Gohan ran after Videl. She wouldn't have a prayer.

Getting up without any help, she left a trail of boys behind her that had passed out- they had gotten a glimpse of her bra through her shirt…

Running, all three made their way out of the museum, and into the plaza outside, a place filled with fountains. Jumping frantically to make a getaway, Videl leapt over a particularly large and deep pool. That was when Gohan caught her. 

His arms wrapped around her waist, and she fell in. She dropped the ladle.

Desperately, she made a wild kick, which he avoided. He then grabbed the ladle, now full of water, and swung it at her, reflexively. Water went everywhere.

There was a hoarse scream from behind the two combatants. 

Turning, they saw a drenched Piccolo-chan. Her face was frozen in a rictus of shock.

Videl took the opportunity to get away, and Gohan went over to Piccolo-chan.

"Clarinet, you okay?"

She didn't answer; she just stared at him.

Then he got a nosebleed, because her shirt was soaked.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Why me?" groaned Piccolo-chan, as for the fourth time, she heated water with her ki and nothing happened when she poured it on herself. She was up on the Lookout again, and Dende was standing next to her apologetically. The yelling and cursing and threats were already over with, and suddenly Piccolo-chan started sneezing. 

The wind was cold, and Piccolo-chan was soaked to the bone with all the water she had been dumping on herself. The cold air had turned the water icy, and she had started to shiver.

"I am so sorry, Piccolo-san," they heard a voice say, and there was Videl.

She was still wearing black, and looked like she was a puppy expecting a beating.

"I guess we'll just have to wait on the Dragon Balls," said Dende, who blanched when Piccolo-chan growled at him.

Piccolo-chan couldn't keep the growling up for long, and was moaning when she started to get up. She felt dizzy.

"Holy kuso!" shouted Videl. "Catch her!"

To be continued…


	5. Other Problems

The Torment 5: Other Problems

** **

Disclaimer: Here we go again. They aren't mine, don't make money, and my hair is red. Sort of.

Piccolo-chan woke feeling like hell. That was the only word she could use to describe it.

Her throat felt like it was withered shut, dry, and sore. Her eyes weren't in much better shape. Piccolo-chan wondered when she had started adding weights to her other clothes…

"Good," said a hazy voice. "She's awake."

"Where?" she croaked, wondering what in hell was going on.

"You're in my dad's guest house," said another voice, and Videl seemed to appear out of nowhere. "You've been out for two days."

"NANI??" she almost shouted, sitting up, but as soon as she did that, her head broke into an aching throb, and she lay down again.

"You have the flu," said the first voice. It took her a moment to realize it was Dende.

"I know that I can fly, what are you talking about," she mumbled. Thinking was too much work.

"I think she must be feeling better," said Videl, lightly. Then, chagrined, she added," Drink this, and go back to sleep. You'll feel better later."

Something bad tasting and sticky was put to her lips, and she swallowed. Sleep claimed her again.

Piccolo-chan had no idea how long she was out again. She only knew that an unknown amount of time had passed before she woke up again.

The dreams she had been having were bad, but not really understood. People and places she had been were interacting and doing some of the most bizarre things. Then they would turn evil. She saw Gohan killed over and over, with nothing she could do to stop it, but even worse was when he became infected by the BlackWater Mist, and turned on her.

Coughing, she woke up, to find a familiar voice telling her to drink something.

"Gohan-kun?" she asked softly, when a hand tilted her head up. 

"Shush, here." Something sweet and sour this time, followed by tea.

There were voices in the background that she listened to, and she was completely disinterested, or she would have tired jumping out the nearest window.

"Thanks for coming over to help. I just wish there was more I could have done."

"You're welcome," said Gohan, taking up his post again in a chair. "She's my friend, too."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You need to go to the bathroom," said a voice.

"Lemme alone," she growled, and Videl shook her head.

"Gohan, help me move her."

Two people picked her up, but this made her feel weirder. 

Gohan stopped at the door of the restroom, and Videl helped walk Piccolo-chan to the toilet.

"Sit," said a terse voice.

She did, but not before Videl shucked her pants.

"Huh?" she asked, confused.

"Just, uh, relax, and let all the stuff out, Piccolo."

Piccolo-chan didn't really understand, but did so anyway. The vague pain in her abdomen went away.

It was only later that she felt a little grossed out by it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"School?" Piccolo-chan heard herself say, after Dende had made the suggestion.

"You're going to be a human for a while, and since you don't have to worry about switching back and forth now, I'll tell Gohan that Piccolo went somewhere as a favor to me, and you can learn something about humans," Dende said, wincing at the glare he received. 

"I'll get you in," said Videl with a smirk. This was going to be so much fun!

"Kuso," remarked Piccolo-chan

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hello minna," said Piccolo-chan through clenched teeth. She was standing in front of large group of students, dressed this time in jeans and top. For some reason Videl delighted in dressing her like she was a giant doll.

"There is an empty seat near Gohan-kun, if you would go sit there?"

Gohan?

Looking up, she saw him there, next to Videl and another boy with blond hair. 

"Hey, good lookin'," said the blond boy. He leered at Piccolo-chan, and she didn't like it.

Unfortunately, she had to pass him to get to Gohan, and he took the opportunity to pinch her butt.

Piccolo-chan yelped indignantly. Turning, she grabbed his shirt and lifted him into the air, and snarled," What did you just do?"

Sharpener just looked at her, terror crossing his face at her murderous one.

He sputtered when she lifted him above her head. Piccolo-chan started thinking about the various ways to murder him when Gohan stepped beside her and punched Sharpener through a wall.

Sitting down to the snickers coming from the class, the teacher started laughing.

In fact, she laughed so hard that she was crying. "Oh, Kami, he had that coming."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*

It had been about a month since Piccolo-chan had become stuck that way, and she was feeling grumpy. More so that usual.

What bothered her all the more was that all the males seemed so petty. As in, they were trying to pet her or touch her at every opportunity, even Gohan. They had both beaten the snot out of him after his first attempt to grope her, but then Gohan touched her shoulder, and she had gone off the handle. 

Screeching, she had punched him in the jaw, almost sending him over a building, almost giving herself away.

Then she returned to Videl's guesthouse. Piccolo-chan had plopped herself down in front of the TV, and was starting to cry because of the movie she was watching.

"Piccolo-san?" said Videl, sounding concerned. She had heard about her strange behavior, and was starting to wonder…

She was shocked to see the usually stoic Namek turned girl curled up on a couch, crying, which turned into a wince as she shifted.

"What is going on?" she asked Videl, before making a soft sound and grabbing her abdomen.

"Oh, hells," muttered Videl. She stomped off to her own house, got a book, and handed it to Piccolo-chan.

"You're on the rag, Piccolo. Read this." Videl also handed her a brick of chocolate and some Midol.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The book described in very dull, dry terms the method of reproduction used by humans. Piccolo-chan had thought that they went through a lot of stupid crap, but this..!

"No wonder guys think girls are crazy, if they go through this every month," she moaned to herself later. She was really starting to hurt. Videl had been by again to give her a box of sanitary napkins, saying she was no way in hell going to show her how to use tampons. Piccolo-chan had no idea what she was saying, but agreed. There were things about humans that she could gladly have lived her life without knowing, and this was one of them.

"Why the hell do they bother?"

"Oh, there are reasons, but hopefully you don't have to worry about them. Just stay away from horny guys."

Videl and Piccolo-chan were packing. Videl had apologized, but was going to have to go to America for the next two months, with her father.

"Dad never did think much about school schedules," she told Piccolo-chan.

"You stay here," Videl said, and Piccolo-chan suddenly felt lonely. As much trouble as Videl seemed to be at times, at least she had been someone to explain the strangeness of being human and female. 

Seeing the forlorn look on her face, Videl smiled encouragement. "You'll do fine." She gave her a hug.

Leaving the room, Piccolo-chan wondered what else could happen, and that last comment about guys.

"What does 'horny' mean? Like Furiza?"

To be continued…

(Trust me, in the next one, you will not guess what will happen.)


	6. Lemon

The Torment: Lemon

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z and Ranma ½ do not belong to me, and never will, and I make no money from this fanfic. Heck, I don't know what possessed me to write a lemon. Hells, I don't know what make me write _this_ lemon. It's weird.

(A/N: I suppose that you know, if you have read the previous stories, is that Piccolo got cursed to turn into a girl when he was splashed with cold water. That is how this story opens. No Videl to keep her on the right, and safe path.)

Piccolo-chan watched Gohan out of the corner of her eye, wondering why Eliza's talking to him was making her feel so annoyed. She tried to reason away the sudden urge she had felt to slug the human with the explanation that Eliza was bothering Gohan. Which she was. Gohan had been explaining a complicated math question to her when this insipid little blond dressed like a hussy had interrupted them. Her mind flashed to the various methods of death she would use when she became her old self again, then into pure rage when Eliza started draping herself all over Gohan.

She stopped, realizing what she was thinking. Why should it matter to her that Eliza talked to Gohan or not? The girl was stupid, and Gohan really didn't care about her at all, so why was she so bothered by it?

Maybe it was the way that Gohan seemed to stop thinking when Eliza looked at him. Maybe it was the knowledge that despite having several male students attempt to paw the new student, Gohan would never look at her that way…

Piccolo-chan jumped when she realized where her thoughts had strayed. Her eyes darted around the room to see if anyone was looking at her, and her eyes settled on Eliza. Eliza wasn't paying any attention to her, but she gave her the death glare anyway. Piccolo-chan hoped that the sternness of her expression would cover up her embarrassed flush.

Eliza noticed, just then, the evil stare that she was getting. She wasn't very smart, but even a chick knows to get the hell out of the way of a wolf. Laughing weakly, she paled and ran.

Gohan, on the other hand, had not noticed what was going on, and was completely baffled.

"Clair-chan? What just happened? Did Eliza-san forget something?"

"How should I know?" Piccolo-chan grumbled, ducking her head. Her face was still a brilliant shade of pink. She got up.

"Are you feeling all right? Your face is red," Gohan said, worried about his good friend Clarinet.

Piccolo-chan noticed that her breathing was getting faster, the way it did when a hard fight was coming, and her belly was fluttering. She abruptly stood up.

They had been working on their math homework. It was nearly the end of class, and they had been given a little extra time before the next bell.

"I don't feel all that good," Piccolo-chan admitted. She was grateful when the bell rang. "I think I'll go home," she told Gohan, who was still oblivious to what was going on. "Ja ne!"

Moving with her more than human speed, Piccolo-chan was quickly out of the building. It didn't take her all that long to fly away, back to the forest she had lived in before getting cursed.

Piccolo-chan had some thinking to do.

She landed softly. By the time she had made it back to the forest, she had calmed herself down enough that she didn't feel like she was about to shake.

_What happened back there? I felt like, I felt like, what? _

It was the hardly the first time she had felt something she hadn't understood. She remembered vividly when she had been (how had Videl put it?) on the rag. Before, the workings of how male and female interacted made no sense to her. Well, she thought ironically, she understood why Bulma and Chi-Chi were so often put out with their husbands. Hells, now she wondered why she had ever considered women weak. She was easily as strong as any of the male Z Senshi right now, but being female automatically made everyone look down at her as a fighter. That had been frustrating.

She had been hungry, had the flu, used the bathroom, and gone through several of the things that she would have considered indignities when she had been a he. Not only had she survived them, she started to wonder if being female and human was all that bad, but this new feeling was so, so-

What the hell was it?

Sighing for what felt like the fiftieth time, she sat down, and took up her usual meditation pose. Her mind drifted back to what she was thinking about at the time, and how she had been thinking about Gohan…

A pleasant warm feeling started at the thought of him. Gohan had always been the only person who had really cared about her, and had tagged along behind her, trying so hard to get her attention. There were times that she wished she had given that attention to the little boy… At least now, she could join him in whistling.

Her mind strayed to the undeniable fact that he wasn't a little boy anymore. In fact, he was a young man, and one of the best that the human race had produced. He was really very beautiful, with his dark hair and eyes, graceful build, soft-spoken voice…

She felt her belly grow warm at the thought, but didn't notice, as she continued on.

_Kindhearted, strong, ready to fight, but not willing to…_

This continued for a while, until she started to wonder what he _felt_ like.

His skin looked so soft, and she had started to enjoy the texture of hair-

There was a strange dampness then, and she noticed the burning sensation in her groin. It felt nice, though.

That trickle of dampness increased, and it broke Piccolo-chan out of her daydreams.

_What? Did I just…wet myself?_

But, I didn't have to- wait a minute- 

She shucked her pants and underwear, and saw the wetness staining them. The smell was different from urine, as was the color.

_I have a strong feeling this did not come from my bladder. Then it had to have come from…Oh, Dende._

There was only one other hole in the general area, and that was where it had to have come from. She had heard enough locker room talk to figure out what it was, and it was an explanation for what she was feeling.

_I can't- Not for Gohan, he was my student- Almost like a son! He's still a little kid!_

Fear ran along her veins. Fighting, she knew, but her own heart was uncharted territory. Why Gohan? This wasn't something that had been planned, or wanted.

She was Daimou Piccolo, Ma jr.! She couldn't feel something like this-

-this wanting…

-this need…

-this being about to explode…

With a scream, she powered up and flew off to Dende's Lookout.

Gohan watched as Clair all but ran out of the building.

He had just stood there, when there had been something clearly bothering her.

It had taken him a minute to recognize that, because on her way out, Clair had all but collided with him, their bodies touching, and Gohan had to cool down the sudden tightness in his pants.

_Nani? I just got turned on by barely touching her!_

_ Shimatta, she smelled nice…_

That brief contact had made all sorts of thoughts fly through his head, and he was wondering if his face was as red as a cherry. He made his own dash to the locker rooms.

Without even bothering to strip, he turned the water on full blast and icy cold.

He sighed with disappointed relief when his erection went away.

Looking at his now wet clothes, Gohan groaned.

"How am I going to explain this?"

He walked slowly to the edge of town after school, not feeling like becoming the Great Saiyaman that evening.

Gohan had liked Videl, but she didn't seem as close to him as Clair. He had known her longer, but he had confided more in Clair; felt that he could tell her about anything. Unlike Videl.

He appreciated Videl as a good friend, as a beautiful woman, but not what she wanted.

It wouldn't be fair to her. He had thought long and hard about it, but she just wasn't able to keep up with him, despite how good she had gotten, and despite the fact that she had made several attempts in that area.

Besides, he thought of her too much as 'sister'. Not 'lover.'

He grunted at the thought, and turned towards Clair. Why was he so, well, so-

Okay, he was feeling lust, but that came after the friendship.

Disgruntled, he headed home.

_What is happening to me? What is happening to me? What is happening to me?_

Those words chanted like a mantra through Piccolo-chan's mind, as she tried to repress the warmth that would course through her ever so often when her thoughts turned to Gohan. Those same thoughts were with her when she landed on Lookout.

"Dende!" she shouted, her voice panicked. The young god was nowhere to be found. Her eyes frantically searched the area, but was unable to find him.

"May I help you, Piccolo?" said a voice from behind her. Piccolo-chan jumped, and turned to face both Dende and Popo. Popo was his usual unflappable self, while Dende cringed. He thought that Piccolo was here to yell at him again.

"Yes…" her voice trailed off. Then Dende saw the real fear there. It made him a little queasy; what could make him look like that?

Piccolo-chan stood there for several moments, collecting her thoughts, wondering how she should phrase this.

"I keep having these feelings that I don't know how to deal with," she stated slowly, like someone trying to figure something out.

Dende quirked an antennae. "What kind of feelings?" He thought that Piccolo already knew what he was feeling, but didn't want to admit it.

Her face contorted at the effort, first paling at the question, then flushing.

"Lust."

Dende's eyes widened as far as they could go. THIS was unexpected.

Or was it?

"Piccolo, you are a young human female right now, healthy, and attractive as humans see such. There isn't a reason for you NOT to be feeling things like that. Just don't do anything you might regret later."

"That's the thing," she whispered hoarsely. "I'm not sure that I can." She started pacing around the edge of the Lookout, making Dende have to keep up with her.

"Well, does this man return you affections?"

"I don't know…"

"Who is it?"

Piccolo-chan stopped so short that Dende ran into her back. "Gohan," she whispered faintly.

Dende couldn't have heard that right. "Say again?"

"Gohan."

"Son Gohan," Dende mumbled in shock. He was dazed until he saw the tears running down Piccolo's face. Piccolo never cried.

"I'm really a freak now, aren't I? I mean, wanting my student, like this, but I can't seem to stop myself…"

Dende had been rapidly opening and closing his mouth while this was being said.

"He's just a little kid, my student, someone that I gave my life for, if he finds out, what'll he think? That his sensei was a monster for feeling like that about a little kid…"

"He's not a little kid anymore, Piccolo, and you aren't who you were either."

The teary eyed girl looked into the eyes of the young Kami, searching for something.

"You said it yourself, you died for him. You love him. He is the only person that you have ever really loved, and it is expressing itself like that. Now you care about others, but he was the first person to open your heart. He has also grown up. Tell him who you are and what you feel and let him make his own decisions."

Piccolo-chan's eyes closed, and she swallowed hard. Turning around, she blindly jumped off the Lookout.

Gohan couldn't get the image of Clair's troubled face out of his mind. She had been hiding something, he wished he knew what.

He knew that she had always been hiding something from him, but he hadn't asked out of respect for her privacy. Although he had told her things about him in hope that she would open up. She had, in a way. She had told him about being abandoned by her father, lied to, and not having any friends.

She had always listened to him, though.

He got home, and said goodbye to the Nimbus. Thinking hard, he walked into the house. He nearly hit the door, and noticed that the lights where off. There was a note on the table, saying that his mom had gone to visit Bulma overnight, and had taken Goten to play with Trunks.

Grimacing, he found his dinner in the fridge, and then went to take a bath. Maybe more cold water would help.

Piccolo-chan's mind was still spinning when she arrived at the Satan's guesthouse that she had been staying at for the past few weeks. Videl had insisted, although for some reason she had been sad when she had said it.

Walking into the bathroom, she stripped, and sat on the little stool while she scrubbed, taking a little of the skin off. She dumped cold water over her head, grateful for the effect the cold had on her. Looking at the furor, she debated getting in. After a few seconds, she decided not to.

Now she was dry, but shivering with cold. Piccolo-chan pulled on one of her old purple gi tops, and found her comb. While it was bothersome to have her hair so long, Piccolo-chan found that the act of combing it out at night was about as relaxing as mediation. Though it didn't seem to work tonight.

Her thoughts turned to Gohan.

Gohan settled down to sleep, dressed only in his boxers. The evening was warm, despite his cold shower, and he kicked off his covers. He looked up, and out of his window. The moon shown down, frosting everything in its light, giving it the edge of the unearthly and unreal. It took him a long time to fall asleep.

Piccolo-chan's mind wandered, and she almost shouted with the despair it brought. Why couldn't she make a decision on this? She knew what she should do, but her heart shouted for her to do something else.

Maybe, if I just went and looked at him, she thought, things will make a little more sense. The longer she thought about it, the better the thought looked. Getting up, and walking to the window, she opened it, her long green hair flowing loose around her, and flew off.

It didn't take all that long for her to get there, maybe shorter than her piece of mind would have preferred. The door was unlocked. No one but an idiot would try and steal from them, and they lived so far away it was unlikely a thief would ever get out there.

The house she knew well, and before she knew it, she was standing in front of his door. It was open.

There he was.

Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at him. He was completely uncovered sans boxers, and the moonlight drenched him with its glow, making him look like a marble statue created by an artistic genius. His hair drank in the light like ebony.

He was beautiful. There was no other word she could use. She stepped softly up to his bed, looking at his smooth gentle face. Her hands itched to touch him.

Her breath escaped her throat with a soft sigh, and she started to stroke his cheek. His skin was as silky as it looked. From there she brushed up to his hair, marveling at its texture.

His chest, though… As she looked at it, she traced the scars that marred his chest, feeling their smoothness, and then glided her hands over the outlines of his muscles. She jerked away violently, however, when he made a soft moan.

Her eyes darted to his face, but he was still asleep, then some movement caught her eye. Looking down his body, she noticed that his boxers were bulging. She blinked.

(fading to black here, pouts I had to edit my very first lemon)

It was a few hours later. The two had fallen into a lovers' embrace after their lovemaking, exhausted. The held each other like that for a long time.

Gohan woke up slowly, and memory returned even slower. He was aware that there was something very warm next to him, and that it was on his chest. His eyes were still closed, and his hands became tangled in something silky. He stroked the tangles gently, and he noted the musky sent in the air. Odd, a detached part of his mind said, I only remember smelling that after 'kaasan and 'tousan had-

…Sex?

His eyes opened, and he saw Clair, and he remembered what had happened the night before. She looked like an angel. A fallen one, that detached part of his mind said. Moonlight sank into her hair, turning it black as his own, her skin bleached white as snow, and he kissed her forehead softly.

A soft sound issued from her throat, and she curled herself tighter against him. It was so cute that Gohan almost laughed.

Piccolo-chan's ear was next to his heart. It had lulled her to sleep, but then the extra noise it made as Gohan stirred woke her up. First she sighed, thinking about the wonderful dream she had, when the flesh-to-flesh contact woke her up fully.

"Gohan?" she murmured sleepily, then jumped away from him, when realization set in.

"No, no no no no no nononononononononono-" she groaned, voice breaking. She tried to run for the window when Gohan grabbed her.

"Clair, Clarinet, what happened, did I hurt you?" he asked, his voice frantic. He had heard that it hurt the first time for a girl, and he frantically began looking her over search of hurts.

He couldn't tell what she was saying, her voice too choked with sobs to say anything coherent. Taking her into his arms, he rocked her back and forth.

He heard her sniff, then in a ragged voice said," I'm sorry. This never should have happened."

She lay limply in his arms. Although embarrassed by what had happened, Piccolo-chan couldn't make herself regret it. The feelings that she had for Gohan were finally out, and she just had to see if he would accept her or reject her. If she could get up the courage to tell him.

"I enjoyed it, and- " Gohan broke off when he felt her hand cover his lips.

"I'm not who you think I am, Gohan. I am," she tried to spit it out, but couldn't.

"I don't care," he whispered in her ear. She stopped her hoarse sobs, and gazed into his face. He nuzzled her neck. "I think I fell in love with you, and I don't know why you are here, but I don't regret what happened. Whoever you are, whatever you are, I love you."

Again, Piccolo-chan snuggled against him, letting herself revel in what he had said, thinking back to the incredible pleasure she had shared with him a little while ago. Gohan would always be the person she was closest to in the world.

Neither knew what the small bite Gohan had given her meant, but Piccolo-chan fingered it anxiously.

"I'll always love you, Gohan, now matter what happens. Especially when you find out." She got up, pulling away from him.

"I-" Gohan started. "Not like this, you aren't," he mumbled, and grabbed her again. They both stood, and Gohan brushed his lips against hers, tasting her tears, feeling her heart flutter. Suddenly he was pushed to the ground, and Piccolo-chan grabbed her gi top-

Her _purple _gi top-

And said," Ask Dende about me, Gohan-chan. I love you."

She was gone, and Gohan started to remember the images he had seen in her mind.

His eyes widened, as far they would go.

"Piccolo?"

To be continued….

(Evil, aren't I?)


	7. Morning After

The Torment 7: Morning After

** **

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Funimation and Bird Studios, and Ranma ½ belongs to someone other than me, and I make no money from this, all I ever got was a cold. Like I have right now. I feel like crap, but because so many people reviewed the previous one, (I'm not Eternal SailorM, so ten is a lot to me,) I started working on this as soon as I got back to my computer.

"Oh, Kami," chanted Piccolo-chan as she flew from the house of Son Gohan, wondering how she had let herself do that. She had mated with Gohan!

An absurd, strangely logical part of her mind told her, at least you know why humans make such a big deal about it now.

_Shut up!_ She told that part, even as she shivered with the memory.

Piccolo-chan kept on flying, and didn't look back, no matter how much she wanted to.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gohan sat on his bed, avoiding the wet spot, and stared out the window. His thoughts were a tornado, whirling and confused as he tried to figure out what had just happened.

This wasn't supposed to be how it worked out, a part of his mind commented. You were supposed to wake up together, proclaim love, or something like that, and get married. Or something.

You _weren't _supposed to find that the girl you had fallen in love with and claimed was your teacher and best friend.

_What does that make it? I haven't a clue!_

__She (he?) had said go and ask Dende. It sounded like the only thing he could do right then. 

Gohan sighed, and changed into one of his old gis. It was the same dark blue as Piccolo's were, without the white cloak, collar and shoulder pads.

_Don't think about Piccolo!_

He couldn't help it, as soon as the thought crossed his mind, memories of what they had done that night emerged, and he was grateful for his large pants.

Yet, the image of Piccolo, his teacher was also there. That didn't change the way the memory affected him though- He felt more confused than ever.

He growled. For some reason, any thought _other_ than Piccolo was hazy, unreal, like nothing else mattered. Gohan looked up at the moon again, and that strange haze settled into his thoughts for a second time.

He fought it off, although the lingering scents in the room were hard to ignore. _Stop this, find Dende!_

__Gohan fought clear again, and took to the air.

He took little time to get to the Lookout, and see what had happened.

"Hello, Gohan, how are you this evening?" asked Mr. Popo.

"I need to see Dende, where is he?" he demanded, the usual nice demeanor he wore gone.

"He will be out here shortly," said Mr. Popo, and Gohan wondered if this was expected.

It was. Dende had been watching Piccolo-chan that night in hopes that she wouldn't do anything stupid, but when it seemed that she had gone to bed for the night, he had let his attention stray. Now he cursed himself for it. He had turned back in time to see Piccolo-chan leave Gohan's. He had no idea what had happened there, and was afraid to find out.

Dende rushed out, his robes fluttering around him, out of breath. 

"Gohan, how are you?" Dende asked. He shrank back from the boy's face. 

"How is Clarinet Piccolo?" Gohan asked coldly.

"So, she didn't tell you?"

"No, he didn't," Gohan answered. 

"Sit down, this may take a while."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gohan listened intently as Dende told him how he had sent Piccolo to investigate the Training Ground of Accursed Springs, and what had happened there, and that they had to wait until the Dragon Balls were active again for them to fix Piccolo's curse, and how it had became locked in the first place.

Gohan went very pale. "I did that to Piccolo-san?"

"We couldn't have fixed his curse without the ladle, and if we didn't have it, this may have been for the best-" Dende said, and Gohan burst out into hysterical laughter.

"The best? You say it was for the best? I fall in love with Piccolo, we sleep together, and you say it was for the best?"

"WHAT!" screamed Dende, his face draining to a pale green.

"I said-"

"I heard what you said, oh Enma-sama," Dende moaned, his face in his hands. "I should never have let her go out alone after what she said!"

"She said what?" 

Dende groaned again, and looked at the ticked off demi-Saiyan.

"She, he, whatever, said that she was having feelings for you that she didn't know how to act on. Pretty much was that he had always loved you, and that when she turned into a girl, those feelings became something else. I told her to tell you, and see what happened. I guess she went to see you, and talking wasn't what happened."

Gohan nodded.

"Now what?"

"We wait, and see what happens," said Dende.

"Where is Piccolo-san?" said Popo, voicing the question unsaid.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Piccolo sat in front of one of the windows in the Satan's guesthouse, on her knees, keening softly about what happened. If you had told Piccolo three months ago about what would happen to him, that he would become a human female, and fall desperately in love with Gohan, someone that trusted him as a parent, and that they would have –

_Made love,_

-rutted like a pair of animals; that she would have-

-_stayed with him forever-_

__-hurt him, just by being there-

He would have slugged them into the next millennium.

She couldn't take much more of this. Gohan, she would have died for, or killed for. She knew that despite what he had told her, once he realized who she was, he wouldn't be able to stand the sight of her. 

And she couldn't bear that thought. 

She couldn't bear the fact that once he realized who she was, she would no longer be able to touch him, be able to be his friend and at his side the way in the way that had seemed so _right_, despite the strangeness of how it had happened. She had hurt him again, the way that she always seemed to hurt him, no matter what else she did. Garlic jr., Dr. Wheelo, and others paraded themselves through her mind. 

She wasn't worthy of him.

Then, as she had said, she had died, and would have killed for him; it was time to do both.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gohan was worried when Dende was stilling looking for Piccolo after an hour. He sat there, waiting, his feet and hands tapping impatiently on the ground and table he was sitting at. 

Then there was a terrified shout from the scrying pool.

"Gohan, come quick!"  
Gohan was on his feet and running before he even thought about it. He stared into the pool, and felt bile rise up in his throat.

Piccolo was lying in a pool of her own blood, her wrists slashed, and still spurting.

"GOHAN!" Dende yelled frantically, "there's no senzu beans, and the Dragon Balls can't be used-"

Gohan was already gone, destination in mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"BULMA!" Gohan yelled, banging on the door to Capsule Corp. The blue haired scientist groggily woke up, and pulled on a robe. She had been having a lovely dream, but had been interrupted by the loud thumps coming from the door.

"Gohan," she said sleepily before getting to the entrance. "What is-"

She opened the door, to see a very pale Gohan holding a very pale, still girl. Gohan was holding her strangely, and she realized it was to keep pressure on her wrists.

"-wrong?" She gasped when she saw what was going on, and immediately led the way to the regeneration tanks.

Trying to be in two places at once was a trick only Piccolo had mastered, and she yelled for help. There was a lot of loud grumbling, and Vegeta came down the stairs after the shouting Trunks and Goten. Chi-chi heard the racket, and followed down as well.

_I forgot about Mom!_ Gohan thought, panicked. Then he calmed down. Right now he needed to take care of Piccolo.

Bulma started to bandage Piccolo's wrists, while Gohan held her nervously. Chi-Chi had already started preparing the regeneration tank.

Within moments, Piccolo was in the tank, and stabilized. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

During the commotion, Vegeta had stayed to the side, watching. He noticed something that everyone else had missed. The bite mark.

_So,_ he thought,_ he's claimed a mate. I wonder if he has any idea what he's done?_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Gohan watched the tank anxiously; feeling like his own heart was the one on the monitor. When it had nearly stopped, and everyone had panicked, Gohan had done his best not to scream at the dead feeling in his own chest. Trying to breath, his heart and lungs seemed to take on the task of working for both of them. 

Then the moment passed. Piccolo was stable again.

Reaching out to touch the glass of the tank, he closed his eyes and tried to _feel_ for the person inside, and felt black despair.

"Gohan?" 

He felt something, and tried to grab hold-

"Gohan! Listen to your mother!" said an authoritative voice, and an arm pulled him out of his almost trance.

"M- mom?" he stuttered, somehow wondering where he was and how he had gotten there. Remembering, he turned again to the tank, but Chi-Chi pulled him back again. 

"Leave him alone," ordered an even harsher voice than his mother's.

They turned, and saw Vegeta, standing there.

They could think of nothing to say, when Vegeta turned and walked out of the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It took several hours, full of nail-biting and nervous tension, but the tank was drained, and an unconscious Piccolo was removed. She rested, in a thin paper gown and covered by a blanket, on a hospital bed in the medical wing. Everyone else had gone back to bed, except for Gohan, who was sitting in a chair by her side. He still couldn't believe what had happened.

But regret was the last thing on his mind. He was too busy keeping his hormones in check. It perplexed him that he had never gone nuts like this over a girl before. _What a minute. Piccolo? A girl? _

He was having trouble wrapping his mind around the concept. Piccolo had seemed, well, so _male_ to him, that the idea of him ever not being that seemed alien.

Alien.

Hah.

That was the problem, Piccolo didn't have a gender. It was his own ideas of him being male that were in the way. Her behavior at school had been about the way he would assume Piccolo would have acted. No big changes.

Then, there was him hormones, his instincts telling him that Piccolo was _definitely **female,**_ in no uncertain terms. 

Man, life was complicated; but those thoughts were for later. What he worried about right now was understanding why the hell the person that he **loved** had tried to kill herself!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Piccolo-chan had trouble finding her way out of the warm well of sleep. It was safe there, no fears for others, no loves, no hates. She was in blissful oblivion. 

Yet there was something on the other side of it that wanted her to come back. She couldn't understand that, but when she did, she reached out, and –

Woke up.

She just sort of, woke up. 

The room was unfamiliar, but there was a very familiar ki to her side. Turning her head slightly, ignoring the vertigo, her eyes met Gohan's.

Crap, she thought. I can't feign sleep and get away.

"Why?" Gohan stated, hurt marring his features.

She blinked, trying to think about what he meant.

"Why, what?" she asked, confused.

"Try to kill yourself! Not tell me about your curse! Everything!"

Gohan started to rant then, and pace around the room.

"If there was one person I would have hoped that you would have trusted about this whole thing, it was me, Mr. Piccolo. Why didn't you tell me? Why did you hurt yourself? Don't you have any idea what would have happened if you had died? How much I- we would have missed you? How much loosing you would have hurt me? I told you that I love you, and I mean it!"

"I have a reason," Piccolo-chan mumbled, while Gohan continued to rant.

"Why didn't you trust me? Don't you love me? Or was this all some kind of- What do you mean, you have a reason?"

"I didn't think you, I mean, I have hurt you so much in the past, the idea that I might have hurt you again was so awful that I couldn't imagine-"

Piccolo-chan was cut off with a kiss.

Gohan had his lips to hers, holding her. Before she could think about it, Piccolo-chan responded, and for several minutes they just stayed where they were, until they needed to breath.

"Piccolo, aren't you the one who told me I talk too much?"

Piccolo-chan looked at Gohan, and smirked.

"You aren't going to answer that, are you?" Gohan said in exasperation. 

The expression on Piccolo-chan's face was strange.

"What do you think about all this?" she asked softly, dreading the answer.

"I don't know what to think," he answered honestly. "Part of me flinches back, saying that this isn't right, and it shouldn't be happening." He saw her bow her head. "Because you are an old friend and teacher. Another is mad that you wouldn't trust me with this, and the other-"

He looked her again, and Piccolo-chan wondered when those stupid butterflies in her belly would give it a rest. They seemed to be hyperactive.

"Is a hormonal teenager that seems a very beautiful girl and is driving me crazy."

"Males," Piccolo-chan mumbled. "I don't understand you."

They looked at each other and the humor of the situation got to them both, and they fell over laughing.

The laughter was rather hysterical. 

Gohan wrapped an arm around Piccolo-chan's shoulders, and sat next to her on the bed. Then, seeing what he was doing, he pulled back.

"This is awkward," Piccolo-chan commented, oddly missing the arm. 

"You have no idea."

"I kind of wish that I could go back to just being Clarinet to you," she said wistfully, looking anywhere but at him. "I was nicer being your friend, instead of "Mr. Piccolo"."

"I thought you were already my friend," said Gohan in surprise.

"I had wanted to be able to just talk to you, and be able to join you in things, and being 'Clair' let me. Now, I won't growl in pain if you whistle."

Gohan winced, remembering the incident.

"I'm guess I'm just used to you being the adult, and me the kid," Gohan answered. 

"Gohan, I'm only three years older than you."

Gohan felt a little dumbfounded by that. Of course he had known that intellectually, buy he also knew that she had the accumulated knowledge of Kami-sama and Ma, her father. 

"I don't know a thing about being human, or love, or any of the emotions that I have been feeling. I guess that means that you'll, you will have to teach me."

Gohan was again speechless. The look on his face was so pole axed that Piccolo-chan started to giggle. She hated it when she giggled- it made her sound like a little girl.

It made Gohan want to laugh, too, and when he did, he drew her into his arms. Piccolo-chan responded by putting her arms around his neck. They kissed again.

The lights had never been turned on, and the full moon shown down in all of its pale glory, and the glimpse of it made Gohan forget who and where he was. The instincts that he had always had came bubbling up, and with a willing partner, had nothing to hold them back. 

He gently led her down again, and that was that.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The rest of the household had gone back to sleep, and by now it was early morning. 

"Woman, will you stop hogging all the covers?" Vegeta demanded sleepily. He poked his mate in the side, trying to get her to move. Unfortunately, he had worn her out so much last night (yes, too much hentai) that she didn't move. She sort of rolled, then let out a loud snore. Griping to himself, he tried to shove her over, but that didn't work, because she still wouldn't move, and any more force would have hurt her. 

Thoroughly awake now, he decided that it was almost time for him to start training. He got to his feet, and thought it might be time to whip that half-breed son of Kakarroto back into shape.

Vegeta dressed in his black gi, boots and gloves, and went down to the infirmary. He got the shock of his life.

There was Gohan, dressed only in his boxers, and the girl he had brought in was completely nude, and they were covered only with a thin sheet. The bite on the girl's neck was reopened, and larger than before. He smirked, noting a similar one on the brat's neck, as well.

He must have laughed, or something, because the next thing he knew he was going through a wall, with Gohan after him, eyes red.

To be continued…

(Ooh, another cliffhanger…) 


	8. Repercussions

The Torment 8: Repercussions 

** **

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama, Funimation, and Ranma ½ belongs to someone else, and I make no money from this. None, uh-uh, nada. You couldn't give it to me.

Vegeta flew through the walls of Capsule Corp, cursing his own stupidity. He should have known what would happen, when you had a newly mated pair. Still, he smirked to himself. No matter how much Kakarroto may have stated that he and his son were 'earthlings', they still had Saiya-jin blood, and it was strong, at least in this oldest brat.

He flashed to SSJ, and rushed back to the fight. Vegeta was unprepared though, for Gohan was already in SSJ 2, and he elbowed him into the ground. There was an earth-shaking thud.

There was a flicker of ki as the girl that Gohan brought in woke up, and Vegeta heard her yell something. Gohan didn't listen; all he knew at that moment was that there was another male in his territory, and his mate was in heat. There was no way that he was going to let Vegeta live.

Vegeta rubbed the blood off his split lip. The nerve of that pathetic half-breed! If he didn't know what was going on, he would kill him in a heartbeat.

"GOHAN!" he heard that girl shout again, with none of the panic that he would have expected.

His head was turned away, so he didn't see…

"SPECIAL BEAM CANNON, FIRE!" (Yes, I used the dub attack, because I can't spell the original one!)

It grazed his head, and it caught Gohan off guard. He jerked around, and saw-

Piccolo-chan, arms crossed, wrapped in a sheet, and looking every inch the furious teacher.

Then his reason snapped back into place, and he could think.

"Pic, ah, I mean Clarinet, what happened? Where is- Vegeta!" Gohan yelped, looking at the pounded Saiyan-jin prince.

He rushed over, and there was a yell from Bulma, and the others who had heard the goings on. Vegeta grunted as Bulma fussed over him, and stood up.

"Woman, will you shut your mouth? I am the Prince of the Saiya-jins, and I can stand up to the instincts of a rutting third class half breed."

"Huh?" Bulma said.

"Huh?" echoed Chi-Chi.

"Wha?" responded everyone else, including Gohan and Piccolo-chan.

The smirk on Vegeta's face was back, and he looked over at the couple. Even unconsciously, they were standing close by one another. Chi-Chi followed his gaze, and saw…

"Oh my Kami," she yelled, and started to run after Piccolo-chan. Piccolo-chan gave a startled yelp and started to run away from the frying pan that had magically appeared in Chi-Chi's hands. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY LITTLE INNOCENT BABY? YOU CORRUPTED HIM! I'LL HAVE YOUR HIDE!"

"Mom, mom," Gohan pleaded," stop!"

"There was nothing innocent about him," said Vegeta, his smirk growing larger. "There was a full moon last night. He's the right age; if he had been near a female in heat, he would have taken her if even the slightest desire was there."

This stopped the running, and everyone stared at Vegeta. He gave a deep, amused laugh. 

"Oh, didn't you know that? Saiya-jins are much closer to their instincts than humans, though we learn to control them. The brat over there probably never dealt with something like this before; I can't wait to see their reaction to what will happen next."

"What?" said Bulma tentatively. "What will happen next?"

There was another smirk, and it seemed impossibly wider. "Oh, just that they are mated for life, and that I wonder how strong the brat will be that comes from this."

"Mated," began Gohan.

"For life?" ended Piccolo-chan. They looked at each other, their expressions- indescribable. 

"Brat?" said Trunks, who, with Goten, had been listening to the whole thing.

That was too much for Chi-Chi. She fainted.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Later, all the adults (with Goten and Trunks locked in Trunk's room, on Chi-Chi's orders) were talking.

"So, they're stuck with one another forever?" asked Bulma, passing out tea.

Vegeta nodded. "It's the same way that I got stuck with you, woman. You can't leave your mate. The latent telepathy a Saiya-jin has won't allow it. The instincts that made you horny in the first place also told you to mark her, and that means the same thing as the human marriage. Only, you can't get a divorce," he mumbled at the end.

Bulma blinked. _So, that's why_…

"That's how I got stuck with _that_ loudmouth," Vegeta groused.

She whacked him in the head. He barely noticed.

"You mentioned a brat," asked Piccolo-chan softly. This was the part she had been dreading. The idea of spending the rest of her life with Gohan didn't bother her in the least, but this, the thought that she might be pregnant, well, it scared her more than Cell ever did.

The strange thought crossed her mind was that 'horny' was what Videl had told her to avoid.

"Oh dear," Bulma said, and stood up. " I had better get something." She went in the direction of her lab, while Chi-Chi glared daggers at Piccolo-chan.

"I don't know who you think you are, seducing my little boy!" she hissed, and both Gohan and Piccolo-chan sweat dropped. 

"You know who I am, Chi-Chi-san," Piccolo-chan stated. "Gohan-san invited me over to meet you about a month ago, after I started school with him."

She had gone to visit him, after Videl told Gohan that she had taught 'Clarinet' how to fly. They had continued with this deception for quite a while, and it let them interact more easily.

Bulma returned, carrying a small gadget. "I, uh, invented this a long time ago. It came in handy. Here, it can tell the day after, if you are-" She didn't finish, her face blushing furiously.

"How does it work?" Piccolo-chan asked, taking it.

"You, ah, need to pee on it," Bulma mumbled.

Piccolo-chan blinked. With a put upon sigh, she went to the bathroom.

A few minutes later, she came back, and handed the thingy to Bulma.

"Guys, she _isn't_."

Everyone looked at Vegeta, who looked like he was about to burst out laughing.

"Well, this means that the rest of the week is going to be very, very interesting."


	9. I ain't naming this one

The Torment 9: I ain't naming this one

Disclaimer: It belongs to someone else, and I doth make no profit from this writing, for money corrupts the soul…

The morning had been one of the most bizarre of Son Gohan's life. He was still trying to get his mind to accept the fact that he was mated, in fact, married, to Piccolo, for life. Even as his thoughts rejected it, his emotions played for him the surging, confused maelstrom of Piccolo's heart. She was as confused as he was. 

He also had a good idea of what Vegeta had meant by saying the week would be 'interesting'. Even as he stood there, and it wasn't as bad as last night, Piccolo's scent hovered, making feel, in the least, clingy. 

Gohan shuddered to think about what that night would be like.

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Piccolo-chan looked over at Gohan, and the apologetic expression on his face. It was almost comical. 

Of course her relief at finding she was not pregnant was dampened when Chi-Chi immediately started with the wedding plans.

"WHAT?" everyone screamed when she announced a 'western style' wedding.

It was then that a worried expression crossed Bulma's face. She looked back and forth at Piccolo-chan and Gohan, and then grabbed Piccolo-chan's shoulder. Piccolo-chan had her mouth open to start arguing about anything to do with _marriage_, when she was yanked from her seat.

"We'll let mother and son argue this one, Clarinet-chan," said Bulma, tersely. She pulled her into her lab.

Piccolo-chan was about to ask what the _hell_ was going on, when Bulma firmly shut the door.

"I forgot to mention this. Most girls forget it, anyway, but it is possible that if you are not pregnant _now,_ you _will be_ within the next several hours. That was why I gave you that particular test, because if you weren't pregnant right then, we could give you some options."

This left Piccolo-chan totally blank. What was she talking about?  
"Chi-Chi, if you were pregnant then, would not, under any circumstance, let you get rid of the child. There is still time now, if you want to, to get an abortion. That would be your choice. We couldn't let Vegeta know, because he wants all of what's left of the Saiya-jin bloodline to survive," she continued.

"WHAT are you TALKING about?" Piccolo-chan finally yelled, frustrated at being in the dark.

"Well, semen stays viable within a woman for several days, and a Saiya-jins even longer. If you are, as Vegeta said, 'in heat', you can get pregnant a couple of days after you and Gohan- ah-" it was then that Bulma figured out that the little boy she had known was no longer a little boy.

"Had sex," Piccolo-chan mumbled. She sat down hard, her face going very, very pale.

"I don't feel well."

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Gohan was having war with his mother about a wedding.

He was willing to admit, with the bond he could feel between them, that they would have to do something about it in the marriage sense eventually, but why couldn't it wait until they got out of school?

"Because dear, if I am going to be a grandmother, that child will be legitimate, your father wouldn't have it any other way."

Gohan privately thought that his father didn't know what legitimate was.

All the while, Vegeta sat in a corner, smirking.

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"We are also making sure that I don' t become a grandmother until you two are married. Vegeta, how can we control them?"

Vegeta jumped. He had been so busy being amused, that he didn't think about what else might happen.

"I beat the hell out of him, and maybe he will be too tired for it."

"Unacceptable! Could we lock Gohan in the gravity room?"

The two adults discussed Gohan's fate, ignoring him entirely, he got up, and left the room.

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Gohan had walked off, and then flown into a set of woods that he had trained in as a child. It was something he had learned to do when he felt out of sorts, and right now certainly qualified.

_I'm marrying Mr. Piccolo!_

Today qualified as a sit down, contemplate-the-meaning-of-it-all-because-it-makes-about-as-much-sense-as-a-fanfic type day. Yes, he was going to go to that nice waterfall Piccolo-san liked so much, and _think._

And hope that his brain and hormones would come to a happy compromise.

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Piccolo-chan rested on one of the many couches in Capsule Corp. Bulma had thoughtfully given her a wet rag to put on her head.

_I could be pregnant. Dear Enma-sama, I never imagined something like-_

She groaned, stopping the thought. Of course she had never imagined it, it should have been impossible. But then, with the Z senshi, the impossible was a regular occurrence.

_Did I ever even think about having children? I enjoyed teaching Gohan, but after what ended up happening to him, how often he got hurt, I kind of gave up on the idea. And before that, I had been too busy trying to beat Goku and take over the world._

_So, now what?_

There was likely to be a baby growing inside her, at least that was the impression that she got from the book Videl had her read. It wasn't likely that they would spit them up, like her kind did. 

Her kind; there was a whole other kettle of fish that she didn't want to open. _I'll think about that little quandary, later. Much, much later._

__She sighed, and squirmed a little on the couch. Piccolo-chan was sore, in a way that was pleasant. Going from virgin to having made love twice in a night did not make for comfortable walking in the morning, even if she did like it.

_Don't think about that, either._

Her mind drifted; and that place that seemed to be connected to Gohan reflected that he was as confused and frustrated as she was, but the _love_ was still there. Her face heated when she also sensed a good amount of lust, too.

_Yes, humans are insane, the whole lot of them. Since I am one, even temporarily, what does that make me?_

__As she went back to thinking about the possible baby in her womb, she mentally commented, _just as loony as they are._

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Gohan felt the feather light touch of Piccolo reaching out to him. There was a lot of turmoil there, but the same warmth that he had felt last night was there. 

He opened his eyes. Was it his imagination, or did his, her, _whatever_ ki seem, well, off?

Grousing to himself, he tried to figure out what it meant.

"No, the test said otherwise, right?"

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Piccolo-chan was feeling edgy. She still hadn't moved from the couch she was lying on, and it was a few hours later. 

Well, I guess there is a way to find out, she thought, and placed her hands on her middle. She felt downwards, trying to get a sense of her body.

Piccolo-chan had looked at several encyclopedias and biology texts while she had been in school, curious at what this new body did, why it needed food, etc. So, she had a good idea of where the major organ's were, and then had tried to figure out periods. 

Feeling for her ki, she searched, and found something about- _there._

A string of curses flew through her head, but she stopped herself, and said aloud-

"No cursing in front of the baby."

At this point, she did what any other rational, sane and otherwise unflappable Namekian-turned-human would do. 

Piccolo-chan Freaked Out.

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To be continued…

(A/N: Next chapter will be a lemon. I have a lot of free time, and am getting bored, so Larania like citrus. Hopefully, it will be better than the last one, methinks.)


	10. Father's Revenge

The Torment 11: Father's Revenge

** **

Disclaimer: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama, and Funimation, while Ranma ½ belongs to someone that I can't remember, but will worship anyway1

A/N: This is taking place turning the Great Saiyaman saga, after the World Martial Arts tournament, but before Buu. I have no idea how long that space of time actually was, but Goku is dead, although I think I'll have him show up for the wedding.

He had felt it. 

It was an energy that he had not felt for so long, one that he had thought was killed several years ago, by the alien Saiya-jins that had tried to destroy this world.

He didn't really have a name, not anymore. It had died with his son, in that tournament, so many years ago.

When Ma shown himself, he had killed several people, not just those finalists of the Tournament. He had killed anyone with a Dragon Ball. 

His son had found the shiny bauble, and liked it a lot. He had told his father that he had it, and then he had left after the tournament.

He had never came back.

Heart torn, he had sworn revenge.

Then it was taken from him, and now he found out he was alive again.

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The two mates slept peacefully, oblivious to whatever was going on around them. They didn't notice the shadow that fell over them, looking at the seemingly human pair.

He had traced the energy signature to this waterfall, and deduced that there must have been something behind it. Climbing up, and masking his own ki, he had found the sleeping couple.

At first, he didn't know what to think. He saw a perfectly human looking couple.

There was something strange though, about both of them. He would watch, and see what would develop. Maybe they could lead him to the demon Piccolo.

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"Wake up, kids," said a sneering voice.

Gohan groaned, hearing that voice, but didn't really register.

Piccolo-chan slept on, but couldn't sleep through the boot to her ribs. Jumping up, she attacked the owner of the boot, and that boot was nearly ripped off. Chi-Chi was not happy about that.

She had gone with Bulma and Vegeta when Vegeta had reacted to the feeling of the pair's activities. It t hadn't taken Vegeta all that long to find them, even though they were dead asleep, and Chi-Chi was not happy with what she had found. Then she was on her rear, with an enraged green-haired Amazon trying to rip off her foot. 

"Pic- uh- Clair-chan, stop!" Gohan shouted, coming fully awake. He noticed his lover trying to maim his mother, and decided to intercede.

"Gomen!" Piccolo-chan mumbled when she realized what was going on.

Vegeta, Bulma and Chi-Chi looked at the two, who were still naked, and face-vaulted.

It was kind of funny; at least, that was what Vegeta thought. He started laughing.

Chi-Chi fainted.

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"I can't believe it," Videl muttered, as she looked over at the shamed looking Piccolo-chan. "I leave you alone for about two months, and this is what happens! You get knocked up!"

Piccolo-chan opened her mouth to answer, but strangely couldn't. Looking up at the other girl, she saw something that she had never seen from Videl before. Tears.

"Oh, Kami-sama," she moaned, realizing something. Being a girl had given her certain insights, and this one was of them.

"You loved Gohan, didn't you?"

Heartbreak; that was the expression on Videl's face. Piccolo-chan recognized it, because it was something she had seen from the inside time and again. 

Videl had sat down on her bed, (they were at her house) and was staring out at nothing, tears silently streaming down her face.

"I loved him," she whispered," but I guess I never laid my claim. I never told him what I felt, and you got to him, fair and square. I shouldn't- I should be happy for you, not –"

She broke down completely, and Piccolo-chan looked at her helplessly for a few moments. Then she did something that she had never done before. She sat down next to her, and put an arm around her shoulder.

Videl, not thinking, wrapped her arms around Piccolo-chan and sobbed her eyes out. Piccolo-chan tried to ignore the warm feeling that she got from helping someone in a way that did not involve fighting.

It felt good, hugging someone. Why, she didn't know. She thought maybe it was because she felt friendship for this girl, someone how had given a great deal of trouble, though she was not the cause of the most of it. Someone who had explained the strangeness that was being human and female, and other than Gohan, her only friend, and she couldn't let a friend cry.

"Thank you," Piccolo-chan whispered into her ear, and Videl broke off her tears, looking surprised at Piccolo-chan.

"You, Daimou Piccolo-san, Ma jr., are thanking me? For what?"

"For helping a very confused Namek survive as a human, even if you did make it difficult at times."

Videl chuckled wetly. 

"I, would you please do me the favor of being my maid of honor?" 

Videl sweat-dropped, and fell over, her feet up in the air. Then she sat up and grinned.

"Of course, but, you're getting married?"

Piccolo-chan looked glum. "Chi-Chi is making us, since we are both technically minors. We'll also have to live with her."

Videl started to giggle at Piccolo-chan's plight. Chi-Chi was not a mother in law she wanted.

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The wedding took place at Kami's Lookout.

Piccolo-chan did her best to pretend that she didn't know the people there already, as they gathered to congratulate Gohan on getting married. It made Piccolo-chan grateful for Videl and Dende, who knew who she actually was. 

Dende was conducting the wedding. He still felt shamed at what had happened to Piccolo-chan, and was wanting in some way to atone for it, and Gohan had been one of his best friends. They stood in the dressing room, where the 'bride' was being attended, and the others were outside waiting.

"You look great, why are you freaking out like this, Piccolo?" Videl asked, when she had nearly had to knock the transsexual, trans-species girl out to keep her there.

You couldn't have told, now, that she had been acting like any other bride. She was sitting, and floating in mid air, meditating. Although, since she was wearing a white kimono, she was having a little trouble with her normal sitting position. Videl smiled faintly, looking at the kimono. Chi-Chi had made Piccolo-chan wear it to conceal the fact that they had taken so long to plan the wedding that she was starting to show.

Piccolo-chan opened her eyes, and there was something strange there.

"I don't know, I just don't know if I'm ready for this. What will happen when I turn back into Piccolo, my old self? Will Gohan still-" She shut her mouth, giving soft noise, and put her hand over her belly. 

"What is it?" Videl asked worried.

"Should Baby be moving this early?"

"I have no idea."

There was a loud crash from outside the door, and a dazed looking Goku staring at the two girls.

Or rather, at Piccolo-chan.

"Piccolo?" he asked, his eyes as wide as they would go. Apparently, he had been listening at the door.

"Son?" Piccolo-chan asked, and noticed the golden halo above his head.

"I was coming to meet my new daughter in law, and I heard you say the name 'Piccolo' and I kinda jumped… This is some kind of joke, right? I mean, you knew I was out there, and were teasing, right?"

For some reason Piccolo-chan couldn't lie to the somewhat dimwitted warrior. He deserved to know…

"Its not a joke, Goku. I am Piccolo." She started to tell him about what had happened to cause him to become a her.

"I didn't plan on falling in love with Gohan, I just did."

Goku, with his usual cheer, grinned. "I'm happy that you found someone to love, Piccolo! Isn't it funny, though that you're having my grandkid?" 

Piccolo-chan groaned, and put her hand to her swollen middle. "I'm used to hating you, but I also respect you. Now, hells, I don't know what to think."

Goku just kept up that silly, happy smile of his. "Can I touch the Baby?" he asked, putting out a hand. Piccolo-chan flinched, but let him.

His face turned solemn, touching, and he closed his eyes in concentration. 

"It's a girl!" he shouted, and everyone on the Lookout must have heard him.

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For Piccolo-chan, the rest of the day was a blur. There was only one part that she did remember.

It was a Western style ceremony, despite Piccolo-chan wearing a white kimono. 

The two met at the altar, and their eyes met. As their vows were stated, their minds touched, and it was all mirrors, reflecting what the other felt, until at some point, their souls seemed to touch, and merge. The feeling was the most profound thing that Piccolo-chan had ever felt, and from the look on Gohan's face, he was feeling the same thing.

As they kissed, it hurt, because they were so close.

_But never, ever alone again._

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"This has got to be the strangest honeymoon that anyone has ever come up with," Gohan commented, as both he and Piccolo-chan hiked through the woods.

Because of school, Gohan and Piccolo-chan were only getting the weekend after their wedding for a honeymoon, and had decided to go for a very, very long hike. 

Actually, Piccolo-chan, now in her second trimester, because of Chi-Chi's planning, had hoped to make it into a training journey, but since she was waddling more than walking, and having really, really nasty morning sickness, it was decided that she should just walk.

It was then that Piccolo-chan felt that familiar niggling in her throat, and just barely lunged off the trail before her breakfast decided to reverse itself.

Gohan held her hair as she puked up everything she had eaten that day.

"Is this supposed to be this way?" he asked, when she finally wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I read a book on this, I guess it is." Suddenly, she looked accusingly at Gohan.

"This is all your fault! If you hadn't gotten me stuck like this, if you hadn't been hormonal that night, I could still be my normal green self, no eating, no morning sickness, no having to be stuck as a weak human! ARGH!"

Her hands flew into the air, exasperated, and Gohan watched as his wife of a day stomped off, then flew away. 

"Piccolo-chan," he cried, looking at the direction she had gone, and flew off after her.

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He had been listening to their conversation, as he had been for the past several months. It confirmed his suspicions.

"Piccolo is alive, and is about to spawn its own child. I cannot let this abomination to happen," he mumbled to himself.

He found himself grinning cruelly as a thought came to him. 

He didn't even have to kill the monster; all he had to do was turn her back into a him before the abomination was born. 

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	11. The Disappearence of Piccolo

The Torment 12: The Disappearance of Piccolo

** **

Disclaimer: Doesn't belong to me, and I make no money. Hope that anyone kooky enough to try to copy this story will give me credit, since they would be in the same cell in the mental institution as me. I hope you like Jello!

Piccolo-chan was having a bad day.

Well, of course she would be having a bad day, because she was a Namek-turned-human that was having a demi-Saiya-jin's baby. That would be hard on anyone.

She had been on her honeymoon with Gohan, when all of a sudden; she had almost broken down completely. Having morning sickness was not something anyone would enjoy, and her mood swings were getting worse. This is bad, considering that part of her was the former Kami-sama of Earth.

So she sat, sobbing her eyes out, on a rock face that should have been unreachable.

Power streaked out around her in pseudo lightning, as she bawled out how life was unfair, and how dare Gohan do this to her, completely unlike her usual unflappable self.

There were several possible explanations for this, if a person wanted to hear them. The changes her body was going through were throwing her completely off balance. She unprepared for the mental aspect of motherhood. She was only the possible female form she could have taken, meaning she was about as close to a female Namek that looked like a human as could be. This further strained her already confused system, with the child being quarter Saiya-jin. 

Poor Gohan was also the only person available to take the brunt of all this, and he was soul bonded to her. 

Pity Gohan.

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He knew his target, and he knew what he was to do.

It was time.

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"I need to go apologize," she mumbled to herself, as it started to rain. She rubbed her belly absently, and ruefully thought about how she had been acting recently. If she had seen herself this way, say a year ago, she would have killed herself to save herself the trouble.

Still, in the back of her mind, despite all the weirdness of it, she was happy. For the first time, she wasn't lonely, she had someone who loved her, that she loved back, and she was making life, instead of taking it.There was a deep-seated joy there that she had never felt before.

She snorted at the direction her thoughts had taken; then turned green, dry heaving some more.

Her senses were so screwed that she didn't sense the person next to her, until a cloth was placed over her mouth and nose. Piccolo-chan did the one thing that she shouldn't have done at that moment; she breathed in.

Her mind registered what was happening to her barely a moment before she fell into unconsciousness. Her last coherent thought was:

_Oh, Kami-sama, the baby!_

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It was like a candle guttering, the strange feel of something taking the ever-present sense of Piccolo's mind away from him. 

The sensation was painful. It was like someone had reached inside his chest and ripped out his still beating heart, and it didn't kill him. He kept living with the pain increasing. He did the only thing he could do at that moment, he screamed.

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_Where the hell am I?_

_Its dark, I can't see…_

_My hearing is human, still, so that doesn't tell me much._

_Can't move, either. _

_Did they get Gohan? If they did, they have seen their last day on this world._

_The baby!_

The recently awakened Piccolo-chan jerked with fear, as dread surged through her veins like ice, turning her cold, and she started to shake.

A voice spoke from her right, startling her. Her ki senses were still shot from her hormone overload, and she hadn't sensed him.

"Good morning, Devil."

Piccolo-chan didn't answer, as a hand stroked her hair gently, and then lower to her swollen belly.

She became aware that she was tied into a chair, wrists to the arms, and ankles to the legs of the chair. What little she could smell didn't help in the least. All there was a faint, musty odor that could have come from anything.

The hand continued to rub against her belly in an almost possessive manner, until it clenched suddenly. 

"ARGH!!!" she yelped suddenly, as pain lanced through her again. Tears sprang to her eyes, and whatever connection she had to her baby made her moan at the fear and pain going through the tiny child.

_No! _She yelled internally. Not even out of the womb, and it had already had to experience pain. Even Gohan had been at least four before the pain of life had intruded.

Growling in her throat, she tried to power up, and thrashed around trying to get some kind of leverage, some kind of movement. Another spasm of pain hit, and she screamed this time, not with her own pain, but that of the baby.

"You see, Devil," said the voice. It spoke softly, in an almost friendly tone. "I may not be as strong as you, but I don't have to be. I have redirected your ki so that if you do anything to escape, it will harm the monstrosity within you. So, by all means, try to get away. I cannot allow this abomination to survive."

"Why do you want to kill my daughter?" she asked softly, trying to calm herself. Terror that she had never known was coursing through her. Any mother with a child at risk has felt the same thing, but to Piccolo-chan, this was more than just any child. It was _her_ child.

"Because," said that terrifyingly gentle voice. "You killed my son long ago. You killed many people's children long ago, and if you are allowed to spawn, your offspring will only become more evil than their sire. You deserve to know the pain of loosing a child, to know what it does to a person. It is only justice, and saving the world from your monstrous progeny."

Piccolo-chan wracked her brain, trying to understand what this person was talking about-

_Damn!_ She thought, when it clicked. _This person thinks that I am my father!_ The old bastard would be laughing in hell at her right now.

Piccolo-chan then did something that her father would never have done. She begged.

"Please," she whispered. "Don't kill my daughter. Kill me…"__


	12. Rescue, and Lost Hope

The Torment 13: Rescue, and Destroyed Hope

Disclaimer: It's mine, all MINE!

Mr. Therapist, (tm DMP,) comes out. 

"Due to circumstances, Larania has run out of medication, and cannot make the standard disclaimer, therefore, we, her guardians in good faith, say that Larania does not own the aforementioned series, and will be able to write this story, because sanity is not a requirement."

(A/N: This part will contain some serious angst, but will have a happy ending, in the next chapter. Hopefully.)

Gohan woke up, not knowing where he was, and for a moment, not even who he was. Everything was overshadowed with a haze of pain, and it seemed like someone else's vision fell like a curtain over his own, and all that person could see was darkness.

He whimpered. Mindlessly, he groped outwards, trying to find the ever-present sense of Piccolo in his soul, but he couldn't. It was like she was dead.

Gohan let out a moan. 

He had to find her. It didn't matter that all his senses were screaming out that she was _dead_, well, and truly_ dead_. He wouldn't believe it until he saw it for himself.

He had to get help.

Flying into the air, he went to find the only other person who knew about Piccolo-chan. Videl.

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Dende paled when he realized what was happening. The thought of someone kidnapping Piccolo, maybe even murdering her, was incomprehensible. To him, he couldn't think of anyone who would want to kill the green giant, or the human female he had become.

Who would want to kill Ma jr.?

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Gohan had flown as fast as he could to get to Videl-san's house. She was practicing on her roof, looking for all the world like she was perfectly comfortable standing on high wire.

If he hadn't been freaking out at the time, he would have admired her.

_Gotta find Piccolo, gotta find Piccolo, gotta-_

__Then the spikes of pain from his wife and child hit him. Falling from the sky, he expected to hit the ground, when Videl caught him.

Then he passed out again.

A few seconds later, he came to, sputtering, because Videl had hit him in the face with a glass of cold water. Literally. Glass and all.

"Wah?" Gohan asked intelligently.

"You fell out of the sky, muttering something about Piccolo. I take it something happened?" she asked, all business, even though she was blushing at holding Gohan in her arms.

Gohan had tears of phantom pain slipping down his face.

"Someone- something attacked Piccolo, and got her. And that person is hurting her, and the baby. I wish I knew what to do!" he screamed, nearly busting Videl's eardrums.

"Okay, okay, take me to where you saw her last!" Videl screamed back, trying to calm the hysterical Son. Not working, she went to get another glass. She thought better of it, and got a pail.

_Splash_

__"Its this way," he told her, pointing in a general direction. 

They took off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Piccolo-chan was cold. She had no idea how long she had actually been there, but it seemed like a long time.

This man who held her was terrifying. He wasn't cruel the way she would have expected, but he was insane. How else could he do the things that he did, yet never show any sign of emotion?

Today was no better than any other time. The man never raised his voice, never spoke with righteous anger, but he had- he had-

_NO! I won't think about…that…_

She whimpered softly, willing the memories of….

"Don't worry, child, your friends will find you soon," said that kindly, old voice. "Then justice will be served."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, no luck so far?" asked Bulma, looking at the new Great Saiyaman I and II. She had been the first person they had gone to when they're attempts to find Piccolo-chan had failed. Bulma had tried using several interesting gadgets, but they had not worked either.

"So what do we do?" shouted Gohan, about to pull his hair out. Then he screamed; another flash of pain along to the bond between him and his mate lashing him. 

"Gohan!" shouted Videl and Bulma at the same time. Then he looked up.

"I know where they are!" he shrieked, and took to the skies.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_Why has the pain stopped?_ She asked herself, opening her eyes after what seemed like an eternity. 

She was in a regeneration tank. Her mouth was covered in a breathing mask, and slowly, although it was fast by natural standards, her numerous wounds were being repaired. 

The world outside the tank was blue and unfocused. The blurry face of Gohan, wearing a ridiculous outfit, peered at her with worry.

Gohan was shaking with suppressed fury. 

What that monster had done… The artistic burns, slashes, and bruises were more than he was going to say. There was even evidence of…

She had been raped. His eyes shut as he admitted it to himself. This beast had raped a pregnant woman, and he had no idea why. 

It had taken them all of eight days to find Piccolo. When they had, she had been starved, badly hurt, and unconscious. They had taken her back to Bulma's, and she had told then it was a miracle she hadn't miscarried. 

_Piccolo-chan,_ Gohan moaned mentally. _This is my fault. You tried to kill yourself because of the pain you thought you had caused me, but what about what I have caused you? I don't know how this person was able to do this to you, but it's all my fault. You took care of me, loved me, and you are carrying my child- I failed to protect you. My fault, my fault…_

__Still watching her, Gohan saw her eyes open with the memories of the past week. Gohan was glad he couldn't tell if she was crying.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was several hours later that Videl and Bulma helped Piccolo to the recovery room. Piccolo-chan had taken a look at Gohan, and flinched so violently that they thought it was best if only females tended to her. It was Gohan's turn to want to cry.

"Come on, hon," Videl told Piccolo-chan, who was leaning heavily against her. The Namek's pride had taken a beating over the past several months, but this worse, and Videl felt like something inside her was broken. Piccolo would never be the same after this. It was all Videl could do to keep from taking her into her arms and holding her. That would kill any shreds of dignity that Piccolo had left. 

"We'll get you a bath, that'll help you feel loads better," said Bulma, and they walked her over to a furor. 

Unnoticed to all of them was the ki signature of the nameless man… Who had done his own research, and had found a magic kettle…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Up the steps to the deep, hot water basin. Piccolo-chan wanted to cry at the thought of a wonderful, cleansing bath. Taking the final step into the water, and settling in, there was a strange tingle, and-

Her skin turned green, and she became-

"Piccolo?" gasped Bulma, backing away from the huge, green Namek, hot water that had been displaced sloshing over the sides and soaking her jeans.

Piccolo's eyes flew open, shock making him wonder briefly why her skin had turned green, when another fear made itself known. 

_Kami- what happened?_

__Touching his now flat abdomen, Piccolo gaped in shock, and Videl, also realizing what had happen, screamed.

To be continued…


	13. Second Chances, and Surprises!

**The Torment 14: Second Chances, and Surprises!**

** **

Disclaimer: I can cook, but I do not own the wonderful series that I am mooching off of. Those belong to really good writers, but I don't know if they can cook. Where I got the whole cooking thing, I have no idea, but Piccolo can't cook either.

Bulma saw Piccolo sitting in the water that Clarinet-chan had been sitting in, and recoiled. 

She heard Videl scream, and then Vegeta ran in, wondering what all the yelling was about. He saw a very naked Namek.

"Girl, you see a nude man, an asexual one, and you scream? Humans, you overreact to everything!" he shouted, his hands waving in the air. Then he looked around. "Where's Kakarrot's brat's mate?"

"She's- he's right there, Vegeta," Bulma told her husband, dazed. Her eyes were focused like lasers on the shocked Namek, who was rubbing his middle, eyes wide, his mouth frozen in a grimace of horror. 

"Nani? What are you talking about, woman?" he demanded, face turning red.

"I DON"T KNOW!" Bulma roared back, fists clenched, looking like she wanted to tear into something.

Videl started babbling something about hot water and curses, making to sense to the scientist. It was then that Gohan blasted in, and looked at the still dazed, almost catatonic Piccolo. He started to cry as what had happened hit him.

"You lost the baby? How? Why?" Gohan wailed, looking at his mate. Piccolo still didn't respond, but his fists clenched over his middle, the icy feeling of denial still unbroken within him. 

"What is going on? What are they talking about? Namek, tell me!" Vegeta finally ordered, and his hands reached out to grab the comatose Piccolo. It was then that the ice shattered inside him.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" screamed Piccolo, and he powered up. His mind was a maelstrom of confusion, but the memories of being touched, and the person doing the touching hurting her… him. There wasn't much a distinction in Piccolo's mind of being in his original form now. He was still thinking of himself as a she, and a male had hurt her-

**_WHOOM!_**

"I guess we need a new roof again," Bulma muttered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"_You married Piccolo?" _bellowed Chi-Chi, her black eyes snapping with rage. Gohan, the focus of her anger was sitting at the kitchen table, eyes red and sore from crying.He had searched for hours, but had been unable to find Piccolo. Considering what had happened last time that he had been this depressed, Gohan was terrified that Piccolo might take his own life. 

"Yes," Gohan answered her; mind elsewhere, trying to locate his lost mate. 

Videl was sitting beside him, rubbing his back, and yelled back Chi-Chi.

"Son-san, its my fault, I was the one responsible for getting Piccolo into the mess with being a girl permanently. They loved each other, can't you see that? Now, they're both hurting, because they lost a child, _your_ grandchild!"

Chi-Chi hissed back," I'm grateful they weren't able to bring that monstrosity into the world. I won't have that freak back in my house, and any child they would have had would never have been a grandchild of mine! _Is that clear?_"

Gohan moaned, hearing this, and put his head on the table, and started crying again.

"Okaasan," he told her through his sobs," if you did that, I would leave and never come back."

Unknown to them, Piccolo heard all of this, and flew away. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"PICCOLO!" Gohan shouted, a few months later, trying to find his mate. He had tried all over the area, but if Piccolo didn't want to be found, well, you didn't.

It was then that he felt it, a faint flicker that told him where Piccolo was. Reaching out to it, he homed in on it, like it was the northern star, and dived as fast as he could. Unnoticed to him, the skies went dark…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Piccolo looked down at the Dragon Balls resting at his feet. He had stolen the dragon radar; it had been child's play, really. For the past few months he had been thinking of what to do, and when he had come to a decision, it had been a relief, as well as a burden.

"Arise, Eternal Shenlon," he whispered, barely choking out the words. This was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done.

As always, the sight of the Dragon God was awesome, as lightening heralded it's arrival, and the sky turned inky. 

"_YOU HAVE AWAKENED ME FROM MY SLUMBER. WHAT IS YOUR WISH, THAT I MAY RETURN TO MY FIREY LAIR…"_

__"I wish for control of my curse," Piccolo said first. He had realized that he was still under the influence of the Springs by reading up on what had possibly caused his transformation back into his old self. He hadn't changed back, but he couldn't make himself wish the curse away. It had made him happier in many ways that he had never experienced before.

"I also wish-" here was where he paused, thinking hard about how to word it.

"I wish that with the next dawn, all memory of myself as Clarinet, of my curse, and of how I felt for Son Gohan would be gone from everyone.." he stated.

"Save me," he added, not knowing why.

"Your wish has been granted," said Shen Lon, his voice oddly subdued.

"I bid you farewell, Piccolo."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Piccolo," said Gohan in a hushed voice, as he found his mentor and lover, meditating in front of his usual waterfall.

It was obvious he wanted to be found, or else Gohan would never have sensed him.

"Piccolo, I'm so sorry," Gohan told him, and the Namek floated down, out of his usual floating lotus. 

"It wasn't your fault."

"I know, but-" he said despairing, looking up into the green face above him. It was impassive.

"It wasn't your fault," said Piccolo again, and this time his voice cracked.

Gohan couldn't stand it anymore. He reached out, and wrapped his arms around the large man, crying into his chest. He cried again, and felt Piccolo's arms circle him.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything to help you," Gohan moaned into his chest.

For a long time, they stood there, trying to find some kind of equilibrium. Everything about how they thought about each other, and their relationship was upside down. Both of their hearts were being torn apart.

_Gohan,_ Piccolo thought silently,_ at least I can spare you the pain of remembering… but I will, our daughter deserves that…_

__Piccolo pulled away then. In the morning, he would be back to the way that he was, distant, unemotional, and prideful, treating Gohan as a son and student, but for right now…

He leaned over, and kissed the smaller man on the mouth, trying to capture the memory forever.

Gohan kissed back. His tongue darted in, and they gently kissed, exploring what was different now.

A sharp, raw memory intruded itself, and Piccolo involuntarily whimpered, jerking away like he had been burned.

"Oh," Gohan whispered, and touched his love's face, his mind trying to sooth the pain of the memory away.

They spent the rest of the night like that, in each other's arms, trying to cope.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Piccolo-san?" asked a voice, disturbing Piccolo from his mediations.

"Hai," he responded, trying to figure out why the way Gohan sounded seemed wrong.

"What happened, did I fall asleep out here?" asked Gohan, and Piccolo opened his eyes. He remembered, then, that Gohan had fallen asleep out there with him, and that he had also dreamed. 

Gohan didn't remember- Piccolo's wish had been granted.

When it took several minutes for Piccolo to answer him, Gohan became concerned.

"Are you alright? You don't look so well."

Piccolo kind of choked, trying to answer, but he felt a strange pain in his sternum. 

"I'm fine," he finally answered, and Gohan nodded. 

"I need to get to school, now," Gohan told him, and smiled at his teacher. He had spoken to his best friend, he had school, and all was right with the world. 

Piccolo watched as Gohan flew away, the lump in his chest not going away.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Gohan wondered at the empty feeling in his mind all day at school. A day or so had passed since he had waked up with Piccolo, and Piccolo had been acting strangely ever since.

Shrugging if off, he got back to his lessons. Videl had invited him over for supper, and that meant he wouldn't be able to see his mentor this evening.

Well, what could be wrong?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Piccolo wondered about the strange pains he had kept feeling all last week in his chest. It was like he was being pushed and shoved apart from the inside, which made no sense to him.

The sharp jab of pain started again, but this time, instead of subsiding, flared into white-hot agony. 

"What- the- hell?" he grunted, and fell over, twisting and moaning.

It wasn't long until the pain worked its way into his neck, and a large lump formed, and he could hardly breath. It was the worst pain he had ever gone through, including- He didn't want to think about that.

All he could do was concentrate on trying to force air through his clogged throat, and into his bruised feeling lungs. He noticed a pattern, as the pain would suddenly get worse, the slack off for a few moments, then increase again. 

The lump hit his gag reflex, and he started to cough. On his hands and knees now, head bowed, he hacked, the mass of whatever working its way back up his tongue. First, he tasted bile, and it oozed out over his lips, spilling to the ground. He didn't really pay much attention, as the pain the pain the PAIN was his entire world could hold. Purple red blood gushed next, then dribbled out of the corners of his mouth. Coughing and gagging still, the object made him unhinge his jaw, something he didn't realize he could do.

And it was out. Without ceremony, the off white thing fell, and landed with a light thump on the ground. 

Shutting his eyes tightly, Piccolo gasped hard, getting his breath back into his air starved lungs. 

Realizing what had just happened, Piccolo's eyes flew back open, and he stared in awe at the egg in front of him. It was off white, it was shiny with slimy green goop, and it was about the size of a melon. The old adage about the watermelon and the lemon came to mind.

It was also webbed with cracks.

Splintering down the middle, with liquid of some kind seeping out, a soft wail was heard, and Piccolo sat in front of his egg, watching in wonder as his child came into the world…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A couple of hours later, Piccolo-chan sat, cradling a small little girl, with a tail in his arms.

Her mind went through the possibilities of what had happened, and there was only one conclusion that she was able to settle on.

When the man had used the kettle to try to kill the baby, he hadn't realized that Nameks were asexual. Piccolo was still equipped, although he didn't know it, to carry a child. The child had come to term inside the place that created the eggs, safe, because apparently there was enough Namekian in her to survive.

"What will I name you?" she asked aloud, and the little quarter saiya-jin, however much Namek and at least half human wailed, her mouth making sucking motions. 

"Now what?" Piccolo-chan griped, annoyed. Her chest ached…

"Oh," her eyes went big as understanding hit. "_Oh!_"

Pulling her gi top down, Piccolo-chan helped the little girl to her breast, where she began enthusiastically nursing.

"Ouch."

The little one had a strong mouth. A smile lit her face, as Piccolo-chan thought of the fighting potential she had…

"I guess I'll have to call you something either to do with instruments, or food," she mumbled. Uh-

"Pan- no, Pan Pipe," she answered herself, and smiled down at the newly named Pan Pipe. "Although, if you always nurse like this, I'll have to call you Imp," she added, wincing again.

Her only answer was Imp grunting happily while she continued her meal.

To be continued!


	14. Adjustments

The Torment 15: Adjustments

** **

Disclaimer: (Insert clever and witty remark, then add standard disclaimer.)

A/N: Yes, Piccolo and just about everyone else has been OOC. This is a fanfic, get over it, and I will try to correct my mistakes. Please review, I don't ask usually, but I want to see if this will affect the number I get, so, ONEGAI review!

Piccolo was a Namek, with a very interesting life.

For one, he was trying to get used to the fact that he was a mother. Long story short, he got married to Son Goku because of a curse that turned him into a girl with cold water, the curse got stuck, Gohan reacted to her pheromones, and they seemed to think that they were rabbits for a while. A madman, who could still be out there, had kidnapped Piccolo, tried to kill the baby that resulted from their enthusiastic rabbit performance, and turned Piccolo back into a girl. Serious angst ensued, and Piccolo wished that they would forget the whole thing. Literally. Although he did want to remember, himself, and he later coughed up the previously thought lost baby, whom he named Pan Pipe, nicknamed Imp.

_Burp_

__Looking down at the fragile looking infant in her arms, Piccolo-chan gave one of her rare, true smiles, as the little girl burped at her, and grinned hugely, like she was proud of herself. Considering whom she was related to, that wouldn't have surprised her.

To anyone else, Imp was a small, red, wrinkled mite with a skullcap of hunter green hair, and a tiny flailing tail. Of course, anyone else wasn't Piccolo, and if Piccolo had heard anyone else say that, that anyone else would have been sent straight to Hell. 

Do not pass go; do not collect two hundred dollars.

Said baby had just burped, and was being set down to sleep in her little nest that Piccolo had rigged, on her belly. With a last rub on her back, Piccolo-chan transformed back into his usual self, and stretched.

He decided on a slow kata, because the gentle movements would let him think. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Not strategic, nothing to do with fighting, but the kind of introspection that comes with a major event in life, and being a mother certainly qualified.

He shuddered.

These motions flowed lightly, barely touching the ground. The past year had been an emotional roller coaster, and he hadn't handled it well. 

_Be truthful with yourself, green man; badly was an understatement. Of course, it took me a while to admit that some of those feelings had been there all along-_

__Humans, male and female, he realized constantly had to deal with pressures that he had never before understood. Add hormones to his mix of confused feelings for Gohan, and the recipe made for a wonderful nervous breakdown. Then he got pregnant. More fun, and then he was-

Rage shook along his nerves, making him loose focus.

_Admit it to yourself, you were raped._

__The proud Namek had taken quite a beating to that very pride during this whole mess, but pride had nothing to do with this.

It was one of the numerous reasons that he had for having Gohan and the others forget who he had become. Pity was not something he could have stood, and another reason- He couldn't have ever really been comfortable with Gohan touching him again. The night he had said goodbye to Gohan for the last time, it had been a huge act of will to kiss him, and even now, looking at him was painful. The touch of a man, even fighting, made him flinch. 

The nightmares weren't as bad as they had been immediately afterwards, but they still haunted him. The idea of even being male made him gag. While he had hated his helplessness, hated being hurt the way he had been, being female had not shamed him. Rather, he was really, really pissed at guys who hurt girls.

Imp gurgled a little in her sleep. Hearing her made irrational fears that Piccolo would never voice bubble up in his mind. After she had been hatched, he had decided not to tell Gohan, at least until there was no other choice. That madman was still out there, and if he managed to get Imp…it wasn't going to happen.

Not while he lived.

His kata continued.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Over the next several days, it seemed that Imp-chan was filling out rather nicely. Of course, true to her saiya-jin blood, she eating like there was no tomorrow.

Piccolo-chan sighed deeply as she put the now sleeping baby back in her nest. Eating and sleeping were all that chibi-Piper had done, but of course, she was the best at it, Piccolo thought. He hoped that no one would ask, but if you asked him about which baby could drool the best, well, you know the answer. 

Well, most people don't know, or don't think about, the fact that lactating is actually a lot of work. Lactating is producing milk, and it can wear on a woman more than you realize, which was another of those lovely things Piccolo didn't know. He had been very, very tired recently. 

She smiled again at the infant, who had curled up, and was holding her little tail in a very kawaii way. She herself had been doing only the minimum of training, due to the fact that she was worn out most of the time, and that Imp-chan needed feeding so often. Instead, she had taken to talking to the baby, and holding her when she was awake. Vague memories of never being touched as a child stirred within her own mind, and thus, she decided to do the opposite.

Again, she thought, this was not something she would have usually done. Back in the day, she would have left the child alone to survive. Well, since she was barely a week old right now, she would have about a few years grace. The child would have to be trained, there was no question about, and her parents' blood would demand no less. In fact, Piccolo thought with pride, this week old could take down a full grown human already.

Or her mother, just by nursing, her mind added sardonically. 

"I don't know all that much about human children, much less Saiya-jin ones," she said aloud, and looked over at the little girl. Some of her irrational fears became suddenly rational ones. What if she got sick? Hurt? How long _did _it take for human children to learn to walk?

Turning back into his old self, Piccolo pondered what to do about it.

He couldn't do what his reflex was, which was to ask Gohan. That went without question. He couldn't ask Dende either, because he and just about everyone else had forgotten about the baby. A problem he had not considered before. 

Okay, what he needed was a ready information source; one that would not ask questions back, about the green person with a human looking baby with a tail.

_Uh-_ he cast his mind out, trying to think of something…

_The library._

__Wondering about that idea, he shrugged, and split formed into three, one to watch chibi-Piper while the other two trained.

_Me, in a library._ Then he looked over at the baby. _Stranger things have happened._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Gohan laughed as Videl made a great joke. Why hadn't he realized how great she was earlier? 

Videl had been keeping Gohan company the past couple of days, since Piccolo had become so hard to find. It had been a good thing, in his opinion, because if she hadn't, he would have been going out his mind with worry.

_What is it with him recently? Nothing has happened-_

__Or had it? Piccolo could have been murdered, and he wouldn't know if until he found the body, or could go on a killing spree of his own. There was absolutely nothing he really could be sure about with the Namek…

His heart gave lurch, like it had several times recently. It felt like something had reached inside him, and pulled out something vitally important. 

Maybe that was the reason he had spent so much time with Videl; she helped with the hurt.

"Hey, what was the homework for this evening?" asked Videl, looking over at his notebook. It had the homework neatly written at the top, and Videl's worst fears were confirmed. 

It was a research paper. One that could not have been drier if it had been sent to the desert. Videl groaned.

"Do we _have _to do this?" she whined, and pouted when Gohan solemnly nodded.

"Kuso, I guess we have to go the library."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Soft coos came from the white wrapped bundle that Piccolo had strapped to his chest. Apparently Imp was enjoying this little trip. Her huge black eyes took in everything, and occasionally a gurgling laugh would emerge. 

Although what made a fire hydrant so funny was beyond Piccolo.

It had been three weeks since Imp had hatched, and she was already sitting up on her own. Like any child with Saiya-jin blood, she would develop fast, to try to take care of herself. Still, it seemed that she enjoyed nursing, and Piccolo winced at the thought of how he would wean the child. 

There was a swift shift in size, and Piccolo-chan changed her clothing into a plain jeans, t-shirt and flannel over-shirt combo. Imp was still in her sling. Moments later, she landed on the roof of the library. Then she climbed down the fire escape.

"Hmm. Encyclopedia? Card catalog? Computer? Where to begin…"

Deciding that getting a lot of books first would be the best idea, then started raiding the shelves. While she was holding the baby closely, she got in the way of all the volumes and volumes that Piccolo-chan was hauling. Sitting, and deciding on going back for more later, she put Imp in a chair next to her. This was fine with Imp, because she promptly fell asleep. 

"Kami always did say something about attempting the impossible," Piccolo-chan muttered, and got to work.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I hate research," Videl said venomously, and started swearing as she went through the card catalog. This wasn't just a homework assignment, she realized. It was the special brand of torture only history professors would inflict. At times like this, she wondered if she would go to jail or be given a medal for killing the yarou.

"You get used to it," answered the ever-patient voice of Gohan. She gave him the Glare of Death. 

It didn't make him burst into flames, whither like a dried leaf, or any other unpleasant things it _should_ have done. Darn it.

They started to playfully argue over which route they should take for their projects, like Khan, or should it be Mr. Satan? 

Videl turned around, and stepped out, when Gohan pushed her over.

Falling on her rump, Videl tried her Glare again, but it didn't work, because he was looking at something else.

"What did you do that for?" she yelled, only to be hushed by several not-seen patrons.

Gohan pointed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Piccolo-chan sighed as she went back for the fifth time for books. Grinning to herself, she was pleased with the knowledge she had managed to acquire. Most of it was repetitive, so she could skim quickly, and get to the new stuff. 

It was a relief that Imp hadn't making all that much noise-

Wait-

Choking down alarm, Piccolo-chan looked at where the little girl had been sleeping-

"Where's my baby?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Imp had decided that she was wide-awake, full, and in an interesting place. This meant that she had to move, and get to the interesting stuff. Of course, she really had no idea of how she would do that. So, seeing what her mommy did, which was walk, she got the notion moving involved your arms and legs. Squirming out of her warm cocoon of white, the little girl tried what she had seen her mommy do.

It didn't really work. She fell forward, and went boom.

Taking a deep breath, she was about to bawl when she found that she _could _get her weight on her little hands and knees. 

GOODY! Even better, her tail wiggled out behind her, keeping her balance. Now she could find interesting and shiny and other really, really neat stuff, like what she had seen mommy do!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Videl choked, when she realized what she had nearly done. 

Sitting, and looking at her with curiosity filled black eyes, was a baby girl. One that she had nearly stepped on.

"Oh, I am so sorry, little one," she whispered, and looked over at Gohan in apology.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Gohan asked, running his hand over the fine, dark green curls that had jutted up from the baby's head, trying to smooth them, with nil success.

The baby didn't answer, just giggled mischievously, in that 'I'm giving my parent a heart-attack, but don't really care', kind of way that all kids have. Trust me, they do.

"We need to find her mom," Gohan said, and then Videl picked the speed crawler up. 

Gohan very nearly had a stroke.

The kid had a tail.

To be continued… 


	15. Whose Kid Is That?

**The Torment 16: whose kid is that?**

** **

Disclaimer: AHHH! They tried to pay me, but I escaped, MWHAHAHAHA! Never, never shall I be paid for this work, which belongs to the great ones, Who Must Not Be Named!

MWHAHAHAHAHA! (cough)

Gohan stared in awe at the baby that was in front of him. The idea that there might be more Saiya-jin half-breeds was shocking. 

Videl grinned down at the cooing baby, babbling baby talk, not yet seeing the appendage that was giving Gohan a fit.

"That can't be-" Gohan kept repeating to himself, until he saw it start to twitch with happiness at the attention Videl was giving her.

It was a real tail, all right. That meant that she had to be the daughter of Vegeta or Goku, because they were the only two left. The baby didn't look like she was more than a year old-

That meant she had to be Vegeta's. Yet there was no way. Bulma _would know _if her man was cheating. 

Which left it being an unknown Saiya-jin. This could be bad.

He _had _to find this kid's parents. 

"Imp-chan?" whispered a feminine voice, fiercely.

There was a rustle, and Gohan turned around to see a beautiful young woman, his age, snatching the little girl from Videl's grip.

"IMP!" she yelled, and held her up, and started babbling about how worried she was.

"Don't you ever, ever do that to me again!" she finished, while Imp giggled.

Gohan wondered if he could get a cavity from the cuteness.

Then he remembered what had gotten him so upset, and reached out his hand to put on the woman's shoulder.

"Miss-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she screamed, spinning around to face him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And promptly choked. The world spun for a moment, as she tried to regain her balance. 

"Miss, I'm sorry, but I need to ask-"

It was then that Gohan realized this woman _knew_ what he was. She knew that he was a Saiya-jin. Then she ran. Ran out of the building, and into the street.

"Oh, kuso," Gohan grunted, seeing that he couldn't find her. He had tried to catch her, but she had run like the hounds of hell were chasing her.

"Who was she?" Gohan asked, wanting to swear. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Piccolo-chan gasped as she landed again, in her safe bit of forest.

"Well, Imp. That was your daddy," she told the baby. Imp, who was not all that happy about being taken from all the interesting stuff, and the nice people, and now she was _hungry!_ So she did what all babies do: she started to cry.

"Oh, no," Piccolo-chan mumbled, and checked her diaper. Yup, it was wet.

"I don't know how humans do it and stay sane," she groused.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Gohan, will you stop with the whole, 'Who was that girl?' bit? Its getting kinda old."

Videl was getting really annoyed with how Gohan had been acting ever since he had seen that girl and the baby with the tail. It was like he was obsessed, and be damned if there was anything she could do about it.

"I know what I can do!" he said, nearly shouting. "I can ask Piccolo-san!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Thankfully, Imp was done nursing by the time Gohan got there.

"Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan yelled, seeing his mentor.

"Oh, shimatta," Piccolo groaned, seeing his lover.

He was his old self, but there was nothing he could do about Imp. She had been giggling while he had dangled a pretty gem that caught the light in front of her. She had tried desperately to snatch at it, while Piccolo made faces. He was profoundly grateful he hadn't degenerated to cooing yet.

Gohan blinked at the sight in front of him. Piccolo was tenderly holding a baby that- Oh, crap. 

It was_ her_ baby.

The little tail made it obvious, but if Piccolo had it-

There was dead end.

"Uh, Piccolo-sensei? Where did the kid come from?"

Piccolo drew a blank after his first urge to curse. 

"She's my new student."

"Your student? Do you know who her parents are?"

_Maybe the mysterious teacher bit will work-_

__"They asked me not to tell."

Gohan looked like he wanted to rip his own hair out. Then he shook his head.

"Have you been okay recently? You've been acting funny."

Piccolo had to resist the urge to laugh hysterically.

"Maybe I'll tell you someday, but not today Gohan. Not today."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Time passed. The Z fighters defeated Majin Buu, and Goku was returned to the land of the living.

All this time, Piccolo was training Imp, and in general, being a parent. 

Then…

"Hey, Piccolo, how ya doin'? asked Goku, who had decided to visit.

Imp was grinning as she came over to see who this strange person was. He looked like her friend Gohan!

She was an adorable toddler now, but with this awful talent for getting into trouble. Piccolo constantly had to fish her out of streams, holes in the ground, and out of trees. Yet, she came out all the tougher for it.

"Goku," Piccolo acknowledged, not opening his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit my granddaughter!"

To be continued.


	16. Grandpa!

**The Torment 17: Grandpa!**

** **

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z or Ranma ½ , they belong to their respective owners, and I make no profit from this.

Piccolo fell over.

He had just heard the words that Goku had uttered, one of which was 'granddaughter'. 

Mental overload!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Peek!" Imp-chan yelled, seeing her parent fall over. She was still too young to understand that Piccolo 'wasn't like her'. He was her parent!

"Piccolo?" Goku asked in confusion, acting the way he usually does, completely clueless, but I say it in a good way. If only we could all be so oblivious.

Imp-chan was sitting on his chest, her tail thrashing madly, while she patted Piccolo on the face.

"I know!" she lisped, and kissed his nose.

"I don't know if that will work on him, sweetheart," he told the little girl, who looked up at him with big, trusting eyes.

It shocked Goku that anyone raised by Piccolo could be so innocent. Although, from what he had seen when he was dead, there was nothing that would ever convince him that Piccolo would hurt his granddaughter.

"It didn't-" Imp was about to cry, when Piccolo groaned, a rolled over, his arms automatically pulling her to his chest.

"PEEK!" she crowed, and hugged him.

Goku grinned his usual happy smile.

"I guess kissing him worked after all, Imp-chan!" Son said, and Imp looked at him, now realizing that this was not her friend Gohan, but someone else. Since she had been taught that people she didn't know could be bad, she squeaked, and hid behind Piccolo.

"What did you say?" Piccolo asked, sounding shocked.

"I came to see my grandkid. Since I only have one, then I guess Imp is who I came to visit!"

"What are you talking about?" Piccolo demanded, confusion written in every line of him.

"My granddaughter. You know, Pan Pipe. Why shouldn't I see her?" he asked, getting the impression that something was wrong.

"You- what- how did you-"

Looking at the sputtering Piccolo, Goku actually managed some logic.

"Oh! See, since I was dead at the time you made the wish for everyone to forget. I don't know why you did that, but I'm sorry I couldn't help you," the large Saiya-jin said sorrowfully, his big black eyes, so much like Gohan's, shiny with tears.

"After what that guy did," Goku started, when Imp interrupted. 

"NO one can hurt Peek!" she pouted, and put her arms around Piccolo to emphasize her point. Piccolo rested his cheek against her now obviously Son hair, and sighed. 

"Imp, yes, people can hurt me. They even killed me once. I was hurt very badly before- before I got you."

Imp's eyes widened in horror; yet she didn't seem to believe it. Then, her eyes narrowed.

"I will hurt them!" she declared, then 'eep'd when she heard an owl.

"She's so cute!" Goku said, and before Piccolo could react, picked her up and started to babble baby talk to her. Imp looked at him like he's lost his mind.

Still, the guy holding her was awfully nice, she decided. Almost as nice as Peekro. 

She gently tugged his hair, and he laughed like crazy.

"Goku, will you stop doing that with my child?"

"Doing what?" and both of them gave him puppy eyes, and Piccolo melted.

"Nothing," Piccolo mumbled, watching the two children play.

"Peek, I'm hungry," Imp said plaintively, and Piccolo sighed.

(Keep in mind, she isn't much more than a year old.)

"Okay," Piccolo answered, and started to shift to his girl form.

"You have food, Piccolo?" Goku asked, and Piccolo-chan shook her head.

"No. I am not going to feed you," Piccolo-chan growled, while Goku pouted.

"Why not?"

"Because," she told him, as she opened up her gi top, "You have been weaned. You are an adult, I don't think you feel like nursing."

(Fact: Some people breast-feed their children up to four years. No, I will not do this to Piccolo, but with Imp's biology, she is capable of talking and developing much faster than human children, but hey, free lunch.)

Goku's face turned an interesting shade of purple, as he fell over, while Imp began to nurse.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was a few hours later when Goku woke up. Piccolo had since reverted to his normal self, and was cradling the little girl in his lap, a not quite adoring look on his face.

"She's so much cuter than a little boy," Goku told Piccolo, and grinned. "She smells better too!"

Goku then heard his stomach rumble like an earthquake.

"Uh, I'm going to go get something to eat, Piccolo, and come back."

In a matter of a few moments, he had returned with several small animals, and one or two really big ones. He arranged Piccolo's fire into one he could cook over, and started roasting the meat. This woke Imp up.

"Its smells really good," she told Goku, and looked at it strangely. "What is it?"

For her young age, she spoke like an adult, probably because that was how Piccolo had always spoken to her. 

"It's meat, Imp-chan," he answered, and gave her a piece.

"HOT!" she yelped, and juggled it for a moment. 

Then she tried chewing it. This took her a long time, because she didn't have all her teeth yet.

Her face was scrunched in concentration, and she did as best she could, and finally swallowed.

Goku had been watching this, entranced. He had only had boys, and a girl was something he had never raised, and was finding being around a little girl to be a lot of fun.

"That tasted- okay," she offered, still lisping.

Goku laughed, and hugged her.

Imp-chan giggled.

"Call me ojisan, okay?" he asked her, and she nodded solemnly, her father's eyes making her look so serious.

Piccolo had watched the exchange with amusement and bewilderment. Imp was too young to remember his conversation with Goku, but he didn't want Imp-chan to know who he was to her. It would save her the pain. Pain of being called a freak, and the pain of his past enemies, if that madman was to ever find him again.

"Hey, Piccolo, did you hear me?" Goku asked, breaking him out of his reverie. 

"Hm?"

"I asked if Imp-chan could come visit tonight. I know that Chi-Chi would like having someone to baby, and a girl at that. Is that okay? I promise not to tell that we're related."

Piccolo paused to think.

True, Imp would need to get to know her other family, even if she didn't know they were her family. And Chi-Chi did not know who her parents were, so she wouldn't freak out.

"Okay, but if anything happens to her, Goku, or you tell anyone that I'm her mother, then you will die a horrible, painful death, worse than the other ones."

This did in no way deter Goku.

"SUGOI! Arigato, Piccolo!"

To be continued…

In "The Visit"!


	17. The Visit

The Torment 18: The Visit

** **

Disclaimer: I wish I owned it, then I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction, right?

A/N: People keep yelling at me to get Piccolo to see the light. It'll happen, it'll happen, but I have to have a little more fun with him first. 

Goku cuddled the wiggling form of Imp to his chest, as he flew back to his house in the Black Forest.

The little girl was still a delight to him, as she took in everything she saw, and would give him her observations in a grave voice.

It bothered him, though, that Piccolo didn't want his son to know that he was a father. There was no real reason, in his mind.

He would have to ask again, and try to get Piccolo to understand. So what if Piccolo was a Namek? He knew they loved each other.

Imp pointed suddenly, at the house below them, and Goku stopped. He was glad no one saw him shoot by, because he had been thinking so hard.

He needed to talk to Piccolo again, alone, without Imp there. Maybe he could help the Namek.

Settling down to the ground, he walked in the house.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I'm back!" he shouted, and there was a stomping of feet as Goten greeted them, followed by Gohan.

"Hey, wow, is that Piccolo's kid?" he asked, not having made the distinction between 'kid' and 'student'.

"It sure is!" Goku answered, and then saw Gohan.

"Not that they are related or anything- I mean, she doesn't look a thing like Piccolo- right?"

Imp, Goten, and Gohan looked at Goku like he was crazy.

Well, maybe they were right.

"Can I hold her dad?" Goten asked, and Goku nodded. Imp was having the time of her life, as Goten picked her up, and tossed her in the air.

Gohan watched their antics, grinning. "I'm surprised that Piccolo let you take her. He's very protective of his children."

Gohan meant this in that any child he had trained, i.e. himself and now Imp. Goku didn't know that.

He freaked out.

"No, she is not his kid! Did I say she was his kid? No, uh-uh, no way. They are not related," he said emphatically, and everyone sweat dropped, even Imp. It was her very first.

"Um… I'm going to go spar with Piccolo now," Goku said, when he realized he had said something wrong.

"But, I thought you wanted to play with Imp-chan," Gohan said, taking the little girl in his arms. She cooed, and wrapped her arms and tail around him, snuggling close. 

As Goku practically ran out of the house, he overheard Gohan say, "I hope that when I have kids, they are just like you."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Goku grinned, thinking about what he heard.

"Maybe if I tell Piccolo about Gohan saying he wished Imp was his, he will stop feeling so worried about it," Goku mused to himself, as he flew over.

What he had expected to find was Piccolo mediating by a waterfall. What he saw was Clair sitting on a large rock, carefully combing out her hair.

"Weird," he said aloud, and Piccolo-chan looked up at him.

"Why are you in girl form?" he asked, and Piccolo-chan blushed slightly.

"Sometimes it helps me meditate better if I comb my hair," she shrugged. "I really can't do that as myself, now, can I?'

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Goku replied, putting his hand behind his head.

"I heard Gohan say he wished Imp was his kid," Goku told her, and she looked at him, eyes blank.

"I do think it would be a good idea if you tell him," he said softly, and Piccolo-chan's face turned pale.

"I want to," she answered. "I want to so bad, it hurts, but every time I think about it, I keep seeing that bastard- and what he might do to Imp."

She paused for several moments, and sighed. "There are other things, as well. I love Gohan, but does he love me, or Clair? Is am I Goku?"

"You're Piccolo, aren't you?" he asked in confusion.

She grunted. "I don't know. My father was Piccolo. I was created with all his memories, but he would never have fallen in love with anyone, let alone your son. Then I fused with Neru, and that gave me another set of memories to deal with, and bits and pieces of another personality to deal with. Then, again, when I fused with Kami… Technically, I became the same Namek I had been when I arrived on this planet, but not. Not really. Add in being Clair, and dealing with suddenly being human, I am very confused."

"If you are all of those people, what's the big deal?" Goku asked.

"How can I be all those people?"

"You are you," Goku told her, like she was a child. "You are a mixture of all of those people, but you aren't them. You can't be them, because they are dead and gone. You have to live your life, no matter what else is hanging over your head. You and Gohan are part of Imp, but she isn't you. Right?" She nodded slightly.

"Well, all we have to do is get you back together with Gohan!" 

"I don't know if I can do that," she whispered, and shivered.

"Why NOT?" he nearly screamed.

"Because- because-" she started to quake.

Goku did what he would do for any of his children. He picked her up, and gave her a bear hug.

She started to cry, and buried her face in his chest like a little girl.

Goku instinctively knew this was what she needed. She had always been alone, both as Clair, and as Piccolo. Gohan had helped, but she had never had someone like a parent; she had always felt she must take care of Gohan. 

Goku sighed, and hugged her tighter. He had had his grandfather at first, then Master Roshi, and Kami himself when he had needed adult comfort and guidance. Piccolo had never had that, and despite being a Namek, he had needed it. From what he had seen on Namek, they lived in communities, they needed people, not living alone like Piccolo did. 

He had lived alone like Piccolo for so long, and it didn't bother him, but being alone for the aftermath of his torture, it had been like a festering wound. 

Goku remembered what it had been like to see Gohan born. He remembered the pain that Chi-Chi had gone through. It must have been awful for Piccolo, alone.

He let her sob, for as long as she needed it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Imp!" Goten shouted, as the baby Saiya-jin went running across the kitchen table. It was at that moment she learned how to fly, it seemed, and took off to the counter.

"Gohan, catch her!" Trunks yelled. He had come over to visit his friend, and was regretting it.

Gohan tried to get a grip on the girl as she ran into the flour canister, breaking it, and white went everywhere. Squeals of delight rang from the thick cloud.

"Where is she? WHERE IS SHE?" roared Goten, and he dived into the powdery white.

They didn't see her go into the living room.

They didn't see her get into the crayons, and they didn't see her display her artistic talent on the walls.

Wait a minute, Trunks did find it…

"KAMI-SAMA! What the hell?"

Brilliant smears of green, red and blue were liberally coloring the once plain walls and doors.

"HOLY KU-" screamed Goten, before Gohan slapped his hand over his little brother's mouth.

"Not in front of the baby!"

_CRASH!_

"Oh, Kami, Mom is going to kill us," whispered Gohan, as they heard the good dishes being broken.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Feeling better?" Goku asked his friend and daughter in law.

Sniffing loudly, she nodded, and Goku found a hanky for her to blow her nose on.

"See? Now we can go get things right between you and Gohan," Goku said soothingly, and smiled encouragement.

"Yeah, mm, yes, you're right, much as I hate to admit it," she told his chest, and pulled away.

"If you ever tell anyone about this, I will have to kill you," she threatened, and Goku laughed.

"It's a deal."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"WHERE THE HELL IS SHE NOW??" screamed Gohan, his own temper fraying.

Giggles could be heard from the master bedroom.

"Oh, no," Trunks whispered in terror.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I wonder if Imp is behaving herself?" Piccolo-chan mused aloud as they flew back toward the Son residence.

"She is such a sweet little girl, I don't think they'll have any trouble with her," Goku answered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"She's asleep?" Trunks asked.

All three boys were sitting in the couch, among the wreckage of the living room, and the rest of the house, completely worn out, staring blankly into space.

"Yes."

"Are you sure she's asleep?"

"I said yes."

"Thank Kami."

Then there was a baby-ish scream of terror from the bedroom that they placed Imp-chan.

"Don't worry," Trunks told Gohan as he instinctively got up. "It's probably a nightmare."

The screams didn't decrease, though, and increased in pitch.

Then there was a loud laughing.

All three half breeds jerked in shock, and jumped outside.

There was little Imp-chan, in a position that Gohan could still remember from his childhood, when his uncle had kidnapped him.

Then, the man grabbed her tail.

The screams had been from fear, at first, now they were of pain.

"Tell the demon that if he wishes to see his daughter alive, to come to the place that I am sure he will…remember."

To be continued.


	18. Mommy, Save Me!

**The Torment 19: Mommy, Save Me!**

** **

Disclaimer: The money made from this fic goes to the Animorphs home for Recovering Fanfiction Writers, an institution that does not exist except in the strange, devious place that is my mind, and all the money only exists in my mind, which is why it is so poor. I do not own the series mentioned.

Imp was bawling her eyes out as the mean man kept squeezing her tail. Where was Peekro? Ojisan? Nice Gohan!

Every time she had yelled like this before, Peekro had come to save her, whether Peekro was a green or pink. Where was her Peekro?

Screwing her face up again, she let out another wail, and then stopped, as a fist connected with her head.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I will kill you for that," Gohan vowed, not knowing why those cries shredded his heart so. All he knew now was that man would die. Die as painfully as he could make it. NO one made Imp-chan cry like that. She should be giggling and making trouble.

Not squalling in pain or unconscious, like she was now.

"You will kill me? I doubt that," said the nameless man. His eyes were so bleak.

Then he disappeared.

"DAMN!" Gohan yelled, and tried to lock on to the man's ki. "Goten, Trunks, I'm going to try and follow that guy. You tell Dad and Piccolo-san when he comes back."

The boys nodded, and Gohan took off, and for some reason the direction seemed very familiar…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Piccolo-chan felt like someone had gripped the inside of her head, and was pulling her heart out through it.

She screamed in pain, and fell from the skies, with Goku barely being able to catch her.

"What's wrong, Piccolo?" he asked, alarmed.

Tears in her eyes, she rasped," Something is happening to Imp, and Gohan is mad. He's in a killing rage!"

Goku was confused. "What do you mean? How can you tell?"

"I was bonded with Gohan, the first time we-" she blushed, despite herself.

"The first time you what?" Goku asked, always clueless.

"The first time we made love, you dork!" she yelled, and sped away.

"I was just asking a question," Goku whined, and followed her.

Goku was hard pressed as he was to keep up with her. Mother's instinct was a powerful thing, and it was driving Piccolo-chan crazy. She had to know what was going on!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Do you sense anything?" Goten asked his best friend. Both of them had been scanning the skies in search of Goku and Piccolo, but neither had picked up anything yet. 

Until-

"Where is she?" bellowed a lady that neither Trunks nor Goten had seen before.

"Uh…" Trunks hedged closer to Goten. "Where is who?'

"Imp! Where is my daughter!" she yelled, rage keeping her from thinking. Before she had realized what she was doing, she had grabbed Trunks by the shirt and was shaking him so hard his teeth and bones rattled.

"Piccolo, stop!" said a voice, and everyone but the lady looked up to see Goku drop from the air.

He spoke soothingly to the lady, whom he kept calling Piccolo.

"You don't have to hurt Trunk-kun to find out where Imp is," he repeated over and over, and finally she put him down.

"I _want _my baby," she said tearfully, and Goku nodded.

"Trunks, you had better tell me what happened before she goes off again," he said quickly, and Trunks nodded hard.

His eyes were like plates as he glanced at the berserk woman behind Goku.

"Uh, Impwasbadandweputherdownforanap- and thensomeguywehadneverseenbefore-"

"Slow down!" shouted Piccolo-chan, snarling at him.

"Okay, Imp was wrecking the house, and finally we got her to take a nap, when she started crying, and we found that someone had grabbed her, and was squeezing her tail, and told us that we had to tell the demon if he wanted his kid back, to go to a place he would remember. Then Gohan told him he would die, and went after him after he disappeared, just-" here he took a deep breath. "Like that."

"So Gohan went after them?" Goku repeated, his face intense. 

"Yeah," Goten said softly. The way that lady was glaring was scaring him.

"Then lets go," hissed the lady, and both boys took a step backwards. Goku didn't waste any time, and put his hand on her arm, and they disappeared.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Did your dad call that lady Piccolo?" Trunks asked Goten. He nodded, the Son confused look marring his face.

"I thought so," Trunks muttered, doing his best to imitate the confused Son look.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You are a charming child," the man without a name said softly, as he took in the sleeping toddler. It was amazing that he remembered her existence at all. He knew something had interfered with his plan for revenge when strange holes started showing up in his memory. 

In the course of his planning for revenge, he had done vile things, but justice could not be denied. He had consorted with things that were almost as bad, and using the Dark Arts, he had been able to figure out that his memory had been tampered with.

It had taken even longer for him to reverse its effects. He shuddered when he thought about what he had done to fix his memory.

Then the sweet memories of his vengeance returned, and he had savored what he had done to the demon, laughing at the pain he had caused. Then, when he had located him once again, he had been stunned.

The abomination that had been spawned from its unholy union with a human was alive and thriving, and while the demon's consort was not there, he had known he had to destroy the child.

The nameless man gritted his teeth. 

No.

He would make the demon suffer the way he had suffered, watching his own child killed before his eyes. He would make sure he would always shun the touch of other living things, and then he would make him live in the same hell that he had lived through, for the past twenty and more years.

"Truly, you are an adorable baby," he smiled gently, brushing the baby fine hair from her face. "Too bad I have to kill you."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Where are you?" Gohan roared, rage turning his hair from black to SSJ gold. The place that he was at, an abandoned warehouse, seemed eerily familiar, and his mind shied away from the feeling. Whatever it was, it was something he _did not_ want to remember. 

"Right here," said the too soft, too calm voice. He was sitting, oddly enough, in a corner, with Imp-chan wrapped in his arms, and she was sucking her thumb with one hand, holding her tail with the other. It would have been a cute scene, had it been someone else. As it was, it just seemed macabre.

He could see the tear streaks on her face, and the fear. That was wrong. A kid of one should not be afraid, not yet.

Then he noticed the rest of the building. It was something out of a sadist's fondest dream, with torture devices that made him want to vomit. Old bloodstains were dribbled around the floor, and he could see it crusting some of the…tools.

"I changed my mind," Gohan told him, revulsion thick in his voice. "I will torture you on some of this first, because of what you have done. Its no less than you deserve."

"Really?" said that calm, grandfatherly voice. "And what of your crimes? You, the consort of the demon?"

This caught Gohan off guard. "What?"

The old man laughed, a bitter sound.

"Don't you recognize your own child?" he whispered in a silky voice, calm, without infliction.

Gohan wanted to shake the man for answers. "Imp can't be my daughter; I haven't even been with anyone yet!"

"Really?" he asked again, this time with humor. Then he shrugged. "I see your memories have been altered as well. Now we wait for them to get here," he said softly, and seemed to withdraw into the shadows, taking Imp-chan with him.

Gohan didn't know what he was talking about, until there was the sudden appearance of his father and- and-

It was that girl!

Gohan gaped, and that weird feeling he had when he had first seen her appeared again. Funny, a part of him noted, he had felt like that around Piccolo, too…

"What are you doing with my daughter?" the girl yelled, and charged up to him, arms open.

She flew backwards and hit the opposite wall of the building.

"Piccolo!" Gohan heard himself yell, without realizing it.

_What did I just say?_

__There was faint laughter coming from the shadows close to them.

"He seems to remember a little of it, demon. Change into your real form, or I kill the child now."

The girl growled back at the man, murder in her eyes.

"Change, or I-" he put his hands around the little girl's delicate throat.

The girl stood back up, and frowned hard. Pink skin turned to a jade green, the hair melted away, the form got taller.

"Piccolo-san?" Gohan whispered, disbelieving. Tears trailed down the Namek's face, but the rage was still there.

Piccolo didn't look at his student, husband and friend. It would have been too much if he had. So he focused all his anger on the bastard that had raped him, tortured him, and tried to kill his baby girl. 

No one, no one, was ever going to hurt his baby girl.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You are an evil man," Goku said suddenly, and turned to Piccolo, then back.

"First you hurt my friend, then you try to kill my granddaughter," said the powerful Saiya-jin. Gohan jumped, because he had confirmed what the other man had said.

But…Piccolo?

"You cannot be forgiven," Goku finished, and did a silly pose. Both Gohan and Piccolo sweat dropped. 

"What? They did it on Sailor Moon!"

Gohan didn't really hear the last part of it, as a horrific pain shot through his head, as he stared at Piccolo.

The feelings that had been vague, that he hadn't known how to act on, for the past year came into sharp focus, as he recalled exactly what had happened. The pain of it was like someone was driving a stake through his head. He cried out, and fell to the ground.

"Gohan!" Piccolo shouted, sensing his pain, and turning to the old man.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY GOHAN??"

Gohan himself was vaguely aware of what was going on, too confused by the bombardment of memories to care. 

_It all makes sense, now,_ he thought, and that was followed by,_ oh, Piccolo, I love you so much, why didn't you tell me?_

__Then the last memory he had before they had been wiped was of Piccolo shaking at his touch.

Gohan started to cry, even as he got back to his feet.

The old man had Piccolo slammed against the wall again, his eyes full of an odd joy.

"First," he said deliberately. "I will kill your child. Then I will kill you consort, the way that my child and wife were taken from me, first by you, then by despair. Then I will make sure that you will never be able to touch another person again. On this night of the full moon, you will know justice, Ma!"

"No, he's not Ma, I killed him!" Goku shouted, trying for an attack of his own. Powering up to SSJ, he started blowing the building apart.

In the background, a counterpoint to the adults' activity, Imp was crying her eyes out, seeing her beloved Peekro getting hurt. She remembered what she had said, that she would hurt anyone who had hurt her Peekro.

The little girl kept on sobbing, and looked up, hoping to find anything, anything at all.

As Nice Gohan was being hurt, she saw the full moon for the first time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Gohan had failed in his own attack against the man with no name, and wanted to scream. Piccolo was being lifted in the air, and the screams gave testament to the agony he was going through.

He was bruised, battered, and all over beaten by the anger and pure evil that had come off this man. 

The man had heard Goku's plead, that Ma was dead, and had responded with, "The sins of the fathers shall be visited on the sons! And they shall pay ten fold!"

Then he noticed that the little girl he was holding wasn't screaming any more. Her eyes were fixed upwards, and she seemed to be- pulsing.

Her eyes turned red.

She expanded in size.

The old man was suddenly stepped on and killed by the very thing he was trying to destroy.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"OH MY KAMI!" Gohan yelled, as he looked up to see the oozaru form of his newly found daughter. She roared in anger, and stomped her feet, making sure that the person who had hurt her Peekro and Nice Gohan were _dead,_ dead, dead, and _dead!_

The building collapsed around them, Gohan's head made acquaintance with industrial grade building materials.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"IMP!" shouted Piccolo, and the oozaru stopped, and turned to look at him. It seemed to coo, and landed on her rear, grabbing the floating green man, and licking him on the face.

"I guess she knows her mommy, huh, Piccolo?" Goku grinned, and created a razor dan to slice off her tail.

There was a roar of pain, and the giant ape shrank, returning to her original shape.

"Oh my gosh, she killed Gohan!" Goku suddenly yelled, and started digging through the rubble. Grabbing Imp under his arm, Piccolo joined him, and they dug the half-breed out.

"Is he-?" Piccolo asked, fear evident.

Goku sighed with relief. "He's fine, just unconscious. We'll get him home with an icepack, and I'll baby-sit Imp-chan so you to can get reacquainted."

Piccolo did a double take at Goku, then smiled faintly, blushing.

To be concluded!

Coming next, gratuitous getting back together lemon and epilogue!


	19. Getting Back Together

The Torment 20: Getting Back Together

** **

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z belongs to Akira Toriyama, and Ranma ½ belongs to someone other than me, and I make no profit save amusement from this story.

Chi-Chi had been grocery shopping and visiting Bulma that afternoon, and was late coming home. She was humming a tune, hoping that the boys wouldn't be too angry with her for being so late, and was happy with all she had managed to get.

Boy, was she surprised when she got home.

The lights were off. That was her first clue that something was wrong. With two boys and a husband who didn't act his age, the noise level tended to reach near chaotic proportions. 

Then she walked in.

The scream rocked the entire area for miles around.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Piccolo, is there something wrong?" Goku asked, seeing the green Namek wince, his sensitive hearing picking up Chi-Chi's scream.

"I think Chi-Chi made I home."

"Oh."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey, Chi-Chi, we're back!" shouted Goku as they entered the trashed house, with Gohan unconscious over his shoulder.

Piccolo was holding Imp in an almost-death grip. He was so relieved to have his daughter safe!

The expression on Chi-Chi's face was priceless, as they walked in on her. There was a sheet of paper clutched in her hand, and Goku gave a sigh of relief. He had hoped that the boys would leave a note, and apparently they did.

Imp giggled, seeing her handiwork from earlier.

The note that Chi-Chi had read said something about Gohan, Piccolo and Goku going to fight someone who had kidnapped Imp. Since she adored the baby, Chi-Chi had started worrying.

"Oh, baby, are you okay?" she wailed, seeing Imp wrapped protectively in Piccolo's arms. She rushed over and started examining her, and looked up at Piccolo questioning.

He gently handed the girl to him, and Chi-Chi hugged her hard. Then she started to babble baby talk.

Goku smiled. "I knew you liked your granddaughter," he said softly, and Chi-Chi looked up at him, confused.

"Granddaughter?"

"I'll tell you in a bit. Right now, lets let Piccolo take care of Gohan. He got a bump to the head, and then we'll head over to CC for the night."

Chi-Chi looked like she was about to protest, when Goku shook his head. Without asking her, he scooped her up, while she still held Imp-chan, and they flew off.

This left Piccolo with Gohan, and he cradled him gently in his arms.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Piccolo ministered to his head wound, which was really a large goose egg, nothing serious. 

This left him with nothing to do for the rest of the night but watch Gohan. This drove him nuts.

So, he started to clean. Since Imp was at fault, so he had been told, it was his responsibility. Considering what was coming out again, he needed to stay on Chi-Chi's good side…

The morning came slowly. The dawn inched across the bed, highlighting Gohan's legs, while leaving the rest in shadow.

Piccolo had stopped cleaning around midnight, and had fallen asleep at Gohan's feet.

Gohan had been trained well, and the internal clock he had developed told him it was time to rise and shine. Said internal clock had no respect for knocked noggins. 

"Uuugh-" he uttered, and rolled over. This woke Piccolo immediately, and he went to peer into Gohan's face.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly, his face inches from Gohan's. Gohan's eyes widened to their widest, and his breathing shortened.

"I had the strangest dream…" Gohan whispered, and then his eyes narrowed. Before Piccolo could respond, he had grabbed Piccolo by the neck of his gi and was kissing him passionately.

"Mmmph," Piccolo said eloquently, expressing what he could with his lips being crushed my Gohan's

"Piccolo," Gohan told him when he came up for air, going SSJ and pulling him even tighter to his chest. "If you ever do something this stupid again, like making me forget with the Dragon Balls, and yes, I could guess how you did it, I will take Imp away from you, and then kill you by bedding you to death. Do you understand?" He looked directly into the black depths of his eyes, hammering home what he felt mentally, along their link. 

"I- Gohan, I am so sorry…"

"Its over with, and I could never be angry with you for long," Gohan said fiercely, into his ear. 

The scene would have looked absurd to anyone who walked in, the giant green Namek sitting in the lap of the human appearing youth. Yet you couldn't doubt it, the way that Piccolo seemed to curl up on the bed next to him. Gohan held Piccolo, and gently sifted through the memories, agonizing over the decision to wipe the memories, and rejoicing when he found out that their child was alive, and being born.

When he came back to himself, tears were streaming down his cheeks, and he kept holding onto Piccolo, rocking him gently.

Then the heavy weight on his lap lightened suddenly, and Gohan found himself being pinned backwards across his own bed, with Piccolo-chan forcing her tongue into his mouth, exploring what had been almost forgotten.

"I missed you Gohan," she whispered, then nipped her way down his throat, sucking at the base of his neck, her hands sliding up and down his thighs.

Gohan was a little flabbergasted. 

Then he started kissing back, and was really happy about it.

He pulled at her gi top, jerking it roughly from her body, and started to rub her breasts everywhere but her nipples. She gave him a look of loving annoyance, and started the same sort of torture between his legs, dipping down, removing his boxer shorts and kissing his inner thighs. Licking her way up, she avoided his now rock hard member, and kissed right above it, causing his to jump. 

Purring deep in throat despite this, he grabbed her by the shoulders, and flipped her beneath him, tugging her pants down, and started to kiss, lick and suck on her nipples. Laughing huskily, she traced his muscles, followed by her mouth, and then she went back to his neck, sucking hard.

Then with a sudden jerk, she flipped him on back again, and straddled his waist, rubbing her wet nether lips against his cock. Then she lowered herself, just barely getting the head in, and pulled back up.

Gohan groaned as she did this.

"You're teasing me," he panted, and she smiled.

"You- bet-" she gasped, barely able to keep from falling on him. Her strong hands locked on his shoulders, keeping him pinned, even at SSJ, and she slowly pushed him a little farther in with each thrust of her hips. Gohan did his best to meet her, but he couldn't move. Then he blasted to SSJ2, grabbed her and pulled down hard.

Piccolo-chan screamed out her pleasure, back arching and digging her deep furrows in Gohan's shoulders, which turned bloody.

To Gohan, the pain mixed with the pleasure, increasing it, and he started to thrust faster, knowing only what he felt.

"Umm- gah, harder," Piccolo-chan cried out, eyes clenched shut as she rode him. He filled her up, and they both screamed as they came, Gohan's seed spurting into her, and the warm juices of Piccolo-chan running down over him.

"I missed this, as well," Piccolo-chan whispered in his ear, after falling forward, gasping for air. Sweat dripped off her nose, and Gohan teasingly licked it off.

They both giggled like children.

"Thank you, Piccolo," Gohan murmured, rubbing her back, and gently pulling out of her.

"For what?"

"For loving me, and a beautiful, if crazy daughter."

He didn't have to look down to see Piccolo-chan smiling shyly with pride.

"She is the best daughter in the world."

Gohan grinned to himself, as the bright sunlight of morning shone over them. 

"So, a happy ending?" he asked her.

"No," Piccolo-chan answered. "A new beginning."

The end!

Sound I write a sequel story, about Imp? I was thinking about doing that. Anyone interested?


End file.
